


Secret Pair

by SofiAnA2004



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angry Keith (Voltron), Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Elemental AU, Fights, Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Guitarist Lance (Voltron), Homesick Lance (Voltron), Homophobia, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Rough Kissing, Sad Lance (Voltron), Secret Relationship, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2019-08-17 16:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16519670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SofiAnA2004/pseuds/SofiAnA2004
Summary: This story follows Keith's Lance's relationship aboard the Castle of Lions. Unfortunately, most of the team doesn't approve of this, kind of. This started out as a series of oneshots, but I decided to continue it as a story.  The first few chapters are not directly tied to the plotline, but I left them in there. This is my first time writing amy sort of fanfiction, so feel free to call out any mistakes you see.





	1. Chapter 1

Lance and Keith were in a hallway. It was right after a hard battle and there were multiple near-death instances for the whole team. Hagar had found out a way to create stronger creatures while using less quintessence. While the creature had taken a lot out of them, they had all lived but Pidge had been hurt badly. She was in a healing pod and would be there for at least a few hours.    
  
Lance was holding Keith tightly. He was out here in space with only six other people on the ship. He had grown to deeply care for each and every one of them. However, with Keith, he had grown a special type of bond. After leaving his family behind, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Keith or any other of his teammates. This battle had shaken him up and Keith was trying to tell him that he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.    
  
Hunk walked in on them.    
  
“Hey I - is everything alright Lance?”   
  
Keith looked up at him before replying, “Oh you’re here Hunk, would you mind taking him? I am not good at comforting anyone.”   
  
Hunk nodded and Lance was passed into his arms. Keith nodded at him before yawning and entering his room. Hunk looked down at the mess in his arms that was Lance.    
  
Lance looked really shaken up and Hunk could imagine what had happened to poor Keith. Lance had probably seen the first person and launched himself at them. It wouldn’t be the first time. He had once found an uncomfortable Shiro trying and failing at comforting Lance.    
  
Hunk just shook his head before taking Lance into his room. Lance’s room was messy with clothes strewn across the floor. There were also some odd bits and pieces that Lance had picked up over the months at random planets.    
  
His bed itself was a mess of blankets and pillows. It resembled a nest.   
  
Hunk laid down with Lance. He whispered little reminders that the team was alive. That they were not going to leave ever. Lance’s breathing eventually slowed down and evened out. Hunk fell asleep not long after him.    
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§   
  
Keith woke up thanks to his alarm. He reached up and turned it off before sitting up. He pulled on his clothes before leaving to go to Lance’s room.    
  
When he reached Lance’s room the door silently opened to reveal Lance wrapped up in Hunk’s arms. As he saw the sight Keith felt a surge of jealousy. He knew it was irrational. Lance wouldn’t cheat on him with Hunk. But he couldn’t help it.    
  
Keith went into Lance’s room turning off all the alarms that Lance had. He turned off the one by his head and the one on the other side of his room. Keith looked around his room, wondering if Lance had gotten a new alarm on the last swap moon they had gone on. But he dismissed that thought, he had gone through his bag for that exact reason.    
  
As he turned to leave the room, Keith felt the impulse to not leave. But he had to train. He gave himself a forehead kiss to Lance, before leaving. He was still jealous of Hunk. It was sad but Lance and Keith couldn’t be open about their relationship. Allura had told them before a list of rules that they must follow now that they were paladins. One of those was that there could not be any relationships. At the time everyone had snorted, thinking that that rule would not be a problem to follow.    
  
Now however that rule was the worst. It prevented Keith from being able to kiss his boyfriend unless they knew that there would be no way of anyone seeing them. The paladins’ rooms were one of the few that did not have cameras. But they could only kiss when no one else was around this initiated a lot of late-night meetings. It was because of this fact that Keith was jealous of Hunk. He could hug or snuggle with Lance at any time and it would be weird.    
  
They were childhood friends and had done that a lot before, the habit just stayed with them. But to everyone else, Keith and Lance weren’t that good of friends to do that. So they continued the pretense of being rivals. While it was more friendly if was still a rivalry that could escalate into a huge fight.    
  
With these thoughts running through his mind, Keith almost didn’t notice when he had arrived at the training deck. Keith and Lance oftentimes trained together. It was impressive to watch. During the months that they had been in the Castle of Lions, the team had learned to control the elements that their lions represented. When they sparred together, the elements would swirl around them, like a tornado. When fighting together, it was terrifying to the other side. Know that the duo would be attacking them.    
  
This time however Keith was sparring alone. Keith missed the fire and earth that he usually got in the morning. Both he and Lance would have their elements encircled them. Keith would have fire and Lance would have water. The two elements would dance around each other while the pair fought. The elements had not been something that had come with time. This was shown when no one else had it happen to them. In fact, Lance and Keith had not even realized that it happened until one group training practice.    
  
That day Shiro had had them spar with a partner. However, the rest of the group would watch them for flaws to point them out. When Keith and lance started sparring, about a minute into the fight, they heard gasps from across the room. Then Pidge started to yell.    
  
“Hey stop. You guys are going to catch on fire!”    
  
She sounded panicked, which is what made the boys stop. As soon as they stopped, so did the elements surrounding them. They looked around the room, noting that nothing was different. Keith scowled at her.    
  
“Was that supposed to be a diversion?”    
  
He was angry, first, Pidge knew that they weren’t allowed to do that. And secondly, Keith had fun sparring with Lance and he couldn’t do it often.    
  
“Yeah, I was going to kick Keith’s butt!”   
  
Pidge looked at them incredulously. She looked at the rest of the team. Hunk looked downright scared, while Shiro was a mixture of concerned and scared. Shiro spoke up.    
  
“What the fuck are you two talking about?! There were flames and water surrounding you and you didn’t NOTICE THEM?”    
  
Shiro’s voice rose in pitch and volume, showing his nervousness. Keith and Lance looked at each other. There had been flames and water? Where was that?    
  
“Umm Shiro, what are you talking about?” Lance looked between Shiro and Pidge, confused.    
  
“Yeah Shiro, I didn’t notice that. What are you talking about.” Keith added on.    
  
Hunk was looking around the room, searching for signs on where it might have gone or come from or that it had been there at all. He found that there was nothing to see.    
  
“Uh, guys... where did the fire and water go to? And where did they come from?” Hunk talked nervously.    
  
After an hour of debate about whether or not it had happened, the team decided to see Allura and Coran about the matter. They laughed at the paladins for being frightened, saying that it was normal when two people had a good enough bond. That made everyone suspicious. What had happened between the two to create this good enough of a bond?    
  
However, after a week or two, the matter was dropped and it was normal to see fire and water in the training room. The only weird thing was that no one else had this bond. The elements only were shown when Keith and Lance sparred.    
  
Keith shook his head, forgetting about the memories when the robot kicked him. He fell to the side, before getting up. He went through with training for a long time, before finally shutting down the program in favor of taking a shower. He knew that no one else would be up so he took a long shower before heading to his room. Once there he laid on his bed, for a minute before he fell asleep. He was plagued with nightmares, of him failing the team or someone dying, either Lance or Shiro.    
  
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§   
  
Lance woke up with a start.    
  
He looked around the room before relaxing slightly. However, when he tried to stand up he was stopped. There were two arms holding him back, and that person was Hunk. Lance thought back to last night and realized what had happened. He groaned knowing that Keith wouldn’t leave him alone until he told him what had happened.    
  
They hadn’t had much time alone since they had just met up when Hunk had walked in on them. Lance knew that Hunk hadn’t meant to interrupt them but it’s not like he knew about them.    
  
Lance looked at the clock on his bedside before cursing. It was nine, this was four hours later than when he was supposed to be awake and ready for training with Keith.    
  
He frowned, his alarms hadn’t woken him up. In fact, it seemed as though they had never gone off. He looked at them and soon figured out that Keith had most likely turned them off. That meant that Keith had come into his room and actively turned off the alarm. That made Lance’s blood boil. The only time that he truly had alone with Keith was gone.    
  
Lance was angry, but he tried to let it go. Instead, he turned his focus on Hunk. It was almost time for team training. That meant that he and Hunk had half an hour to eat and get ready. This also meant that he couldn’t start his beauty regime until after practice, which would not be helpful. But it was something he would have to give up if he wanted to eat.    
  
He turned towards Hunk and started to shake him. “Hey, buddy wake up. We have training this morning.”    
  
All Lance got was a groan, he chuckled before saying, “If you don’t get up now you can’t eat.”    
  
Hunk shot up at the mention of food. He almost shot out of the door in his hurry. Lance laughed before following him at a more leisurely pace. He wasn’t looking forward to goo, they hadn’t stopped at a swap market in a while. But that would be made up, the team was stopping at a sort of fair for a vacation. They had begged a lot in order to receive this day from Allura.    
  
When he got to the kitchen, he poured himself a serving of goo before sitting down. Hunk was still half-asleep, which eliminated conversation. He assumed that Keith and Pidge were working in the lounge or Green’s hanger. Pidge was most likely working on a project and Keith was probably helping her. He guessed that Shiro was in the training room or trying to catch a nap. Even if it was early in the morning, Shiro had trouble sleeping sometimes.    
  
Lance cleaned off his plate and set it near the sink, then started to head towards the training deck. He could see everything from up there and he could see how long Keith had sparred with the training bot. He could bet that when he wasn’t there to stop him, Keith could go on for hours. When he checked the panel he saw exactly that. Keith had woken up even earlier than normal and then trained until nine. Lance had just missed Keith, by a half hour, at least he would see him later.    
  
Lance headed down to the room. He had seen everyone else start to gather and wanted to say something to Keith before practice. However, when he entered the room he noticed that Keith was nowhere to be seen. He stayed quiet, however, thinking that he was just later incoming in. That idea was thrown away when Shiro asked Pidge and him to go wake Keith up from his room.    
  
They complied and walked down the corridor. As they entered Keith’s room Pidge noticed that Keith was having a nightmare. His face was scrunched up and he was making a noise between a whine and a grunt. Lance noticed it too.    
  
“Hey Pidge go get some water, would you? I know that usually after a nightmare, I am always thirsty, and usually so were my siblings.”   
  
“Uh, yeah sure. Are you going to wake him up?”   
  
“Yeah, it will be fine. Just go get some water.”    
  
As Pidge left to get water, Lance leaned over Keith and gently shook him awake. Keith groaned as he woke up, but when he saw Lance he pulled him into a tight hug.    
  
“You’re okay! I saw you die and-“   
  
As Keith rambled, Lance mumbled that he was never going to leave him and that he was right there. Keith calmed down quickly and asked how he was doing.    
  
Lance chuckled, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What would I even be upset about?”   
  
Keith frowned at him, “Well if last night is any indication, then I would say that you would be upset about the battle yesterday. And don’t try and brush it off, I just want to know if you are alright.”   
  
Lance poured and pushed away slightly. “Oh yeah? Well, I could ask you the same thing, and not just about the nightmare.  You didn’t wake me up for our usual training time. What the hell was that about? I wanted to spend time with you.”   
  
Keith frowned, even more, pushing Lance away he folded his arms. “I was trying to be nice and care for you. You were really upset and you seemed comfortable with Hunk.”   
  
They jumped apart at the sound of the door opening. Pidge was revealed with a glass of water.    
  
“Hey sorry, it took so long. I was trying to find an actual pouch but I think that we used them all. I- Are you guys fighting?! Keith just woke up, how are you already fighting? And here I was thinking that you guys were actually getting along.” She rolled her eyes. Lance frowned, his expression hurt.    
  
“Well, we were until Keith was an ASSHOLE. And don’t try to deny it, Keith.”    
  
With that he ran out of the room, his expression had been one of hurt and he looked like he was crying. Keith looked alarmed and guilty, he struggled out of the sheets and ran after Lance. After a moment of shock, Pidge reacted.  “What the fuck just happened?!”   
  
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Keith ran after Lance, turning out of the room in time to see him run down a corridor and turn. He felt like shit. He had tried his best to do what he thought was best, but now that he thought about it, his intentions had been selfish. He had been jealous of Hunk and Lance which is what caused him to train alone. He hadn’t wanted to see Lance that day and he hadn’t thought about how Lance would react.    
  
He had made Lance get hurt and cry. That only fueled his desire to get to Lance sooner and explained why he did what he did.    
  
He passed a corridor and would have kept running, almost missing Lance, but turned at the right time to see him disappear down another corridor on the left. Keith saw the turn at the last minute and had to stop in order to follow him. However, he knew where he was going now and wasn’t concerned. He decided to go a little slower in order to give Lance some time to cool down before he cornered him in order to apologize.    
  
He slowed down from a sprint to a jog. He was slightly out of breath. Even though he trained often and fought, most of his opponents came to him. He didn’t usually have to run towards them unless they were trying to get someone.    
  
As he turned the last corner, he was faced with the Blue Lion’s hanger. Lance usually came down there to think or get away from everyone. As he neared the lion, he noticed something off. Blue’s head wasn’t on the ground. It normally was and he knew that Lance would have come in the hangar about a minute ago, not enough time for it to pick up its head. That would mean that Lance wasn’t in Blue and probably not in the hanger.    
  
Keith walked up to the Blue Lion. “Hey Blue, I really hurt Lance and I want to make it right. Would you happen to know where he went?”    
  
He felt Blue’s indignation and sighed. “I really messed up and Lance ran away before I could explain. I am not pinning this on him.” He added quickly feeling Blue’s anger spike. “I am just explaining why I haven’t already apologized. Would you be able to help me?”    
  
He got no response on where he was only got a sense that Blue was reluctant to share the information. Lance wanted to be alone right now. “Alright... Thanks anyway Blue. Will you let me know when he is ready to talk? I am going to be with Red for now.”   
  
He felt a sense of agreement, before walking over to Red.    
  
“Hey Red, can I get your opinion on something?”   
  
“Yes, of course, what is the matter, Keith? What happened between you and Lance?”   
  
Red lowered her mouth to the ground, opening it so that Keith could walk in.    
  
“I- Well we had a fight. I messed up on something and before I could explain why I thought that it was right, Lance ran off.”    
  
Red raised her head up as Keith sat in the pilot’s seat.    
  
“I went to Blue to see if she knew where he was. I thought that he was in the hanger, but that was wrong. I guess he started to go here and then turned somewhere else. He must have realized that I would come here first.”   
  
Keith yelled out in frustration and banged his head on the head of the seat.    
  
“Even when I see him, I have no idea what I am going to say. ‘Hey Lance sorry I was a dick, but I was jealous of you and Hunk. Hope that makes this better.’ I can’t say that. It will sound like I don’t trust him, which I do. I just wish that we can hang out like that, but we can’t.”   
  
“I think that you can say just that, but with rewording. Lance will understand. And if he still doesn’t understand walk him through it. You just wanted to be able to be close to him without suspicion.”   
  
“I guess, I just- I wish that I had Lance’s people skills. I can’t talk to anyone for shit.”   
  
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As Lance ran down the corridor, he heard Keith start to slow down. Keith probably thought that he was going to Blue’s hanger. However right before going to Blue, he took a turn. It would take him to a room that he had discovered one day on his own. Coran was probably the only one who knew about this room.    
  
He turned into a nursery. Its walls had swells of blue and a light pink dancing around each other. At some points, they mixed to make a blue-violet. The walls were covered with pictures. Lance had no idea who they were but the pictures were of happy families. But there was one picture that Lance likes the most.    
  
It held four people. They were alteans, as shown by their cheek marks. The family consisted of two parents and two young children. He assumed that they were recently new parents, considering the children’s age. The youngest looked around six months and the eldest looked approximately eighteen months. However, the eldest looked like he would imagine young Allura to look.    
  
The baby had the bluest hair, taking after his father. His skin was not as dark as Allura’s. In fact, it was closer to Lance’s skin tone. His eyes were slightly closed as a sign of sleepiness, but Lance could tell that they were a lighter shade of blue.    
  
The other child had hair that was a shade of white. She took after his mother in that manner. However, where Allura’s feature took after her mother, this child took after her father. Her skin was as dark as Allura’s   
  
Alfor had put his crown on his son’s head, the photo catching him mid-laugh. Allura had on her mother’s tiara. She was held up to her mother, as she placed a kiss on her forehead.    
  
The family looked very happy and it made Lance think of his own family. However, it made him happy. It took him back to fond memories.    
  
Lance was suddenly taken out of his thoughts by a presence at the back of his mind.    
  
“Hey Blue, what’s up?”   
  
“I wanted to ask if you wanted to see Keith. He is very insistent on seeing you and making up with you. Do you want to see him now or wait? I can have him wait with Red until you are ready.”   
  
“...Thanks, Blue. I think that I will take you up on that offer. I just want some time alone to think right now.”   
  
With that Blue withdrew from his mind and he was left alone in the nursery.    
  
He sighed and turned towards the rest of the pictures. They all showed the same thing. Happy families. Some just young kids that were orphans, some larger families, big enough to rival even Lance’s family.    
  
He stayed there for maybe an hour before telling Blue that he was going to head down to the hanger. He took one last look before stepping out of the room. He wanted to keep it a secret for now. 

  
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Pidge stayed still another second in Keith’s room. She was trying to wrap her head around what had happened. She then spun around and raced out of the room. She was too slow and didn’t catch Keith run down the corridor. She turned both ways to check in case. After seeing no one she checked a few corridors just in case. Finally, she headed towards the training room.   
  
“Has anyone seen Keith or Lance!”  
  
Shiro answered her, “No we haven’t. Is everything alright?”  
  
“ _No. Nothing is alright!_ _I-_ Sorry let me explain what happened. So I didn’t see them argue, because I went to get water and Lance woke Keith up from a nightmare. When I came back, Lance was frowning on one side of the bed, while Keith was looking guilty as hell and I think pouting. I asked how they had already fought.\, seeing as Keith had just woken up. Lance then yelled something about Keith being an asshole and ran out of the room _crying_. Then a second later Keith ran after him shouting his name. I was too slow and didn’t see what way they went. I don’t understand what happened.”  
  
Shiro clapped his hands together, “Well looks like we have to go find them now. Pidge where do you suggest we start looking?”  
  
“Well, I would suggest the Lions’ hangers. They both ran in that direction and I know that Lance goes there for comfort from Blue. Keith knows that as well.”  
  
“Alright team, I want Hunk and Pidge to go to the hangers and find them. If they are not there they must be somewhere else. I will be checking their rooms and the bathrooms in case they doubled back. Let’s go.”  
  
The three of them split up and began the search.   
  
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Keith was sitting in Red’s cockpit, meditating and calming himself down. All of a sudden, he got a feeling of urgency from Blue. He stood up as Red lowered her head.   
  
“Thanks, Red for helping me. I don’t know how well this will work though.”  
  
As he walked out, he saw Lance enter the hangers.   
  
“Lance!” He called out. Lance turned towards him and saw him. As Lance started to approach Keith, Keith knew that he had fucked up. Lance had twin tear tracks down his face and his eyes were slightly red and puffy.   
  
Keith’s face began to crumble away from the mask that he put on. Lance noticed this. Keith pulled Lance into a tight hug.   
  
“I am so so so sorry Lance. I shouldn’t have done that, I- I was just jealous of the fact that you and Hunk could lay down together and it’s normal. But then if I tried it, it would just be weird. And I fucking hate that. I-“  
  
“It’s okay Keith. It’s just that after that battle I really just wanted companionship. That’s all, I just wanted to hang out with you and Hunk and everyone else. “  
  
Keith pushes him away slightly so that he can see his face.   
  
“But it’s not okay, I took my jealousy out on you. I hurt you and then we had this fight. I doubt that is what you wanted to happen.”  
  
“You’re right. This is not what I wanted to happen. So I just want to put this behind us and hang out. Please, that’s all I am asking for. “  
  
“I - yeah I can do that.”  
  
Keith huffs out a laugh before tightly hugging Lance. They stay like that for a couple of minutes. However, they had two visitors, that once they saw the pair, the visitors back away. Allowing the two to have that moment and makeup.   
  
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Keith looks up. His door just opened to reveal Shiro.   
  
“Uh... Hey Shiro. What brings you into my room?”  
  
“Well after I heard about your fight with Lance and how it affected you two, I wanted to make sure that you are okay. ...And also to make sure that it won’t happen again or affect Voltron.”  
  
Keith grins at Shiro, surprising him slightly. He didn't expect to see him so happy.   
  
“You have nothing to worry about Shiro. We fixed everything and are back to normal.”  
  
Keith smiles again before turning around to clean his room. Keith had collected a couple of baubles and new clothes over the year and a half.   
  
Shiro looks at him one last time before realizing that whatever happened was in the past. The two had really matured and they fixed the fight between the two of them.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was going to be a cute fluffy story. But then I added angst, again. And in all honesty the rest of the team are assholes for a good part of the story. Except for Hunk, because he is just perfect. But there is fluff at the end. 
> 
> Also I suck at conversations and dialogues. So there isn’t much of that.

Lance barged into Keith’s room. 

“Guess what I just managed to convince Allura to do!”

Keith looks up groggy. He had been taking a nap after the fight and Lance had just woken him up. Lance looks at him and notices it. He has the decency to be sorry. 

“Ok, sorry about waking you up, but this is worth it. I managed to convince Allura to let us have a day off. We are even going to go to a planet to hangout, AND THE PLANET HAS AN OCEAN!”

Lance yelled at the end, excited. He looked at Keith to see his reaction. He was pleased to see Keith surprised. 

“How did you manage that? She doesn’t even listen to Shiro’s suggestions to take a break.”

Lance looked sheepish. “Well I told her that I wouldn’t flirt with her for a month. She got so excited and readily agreed.” He chuckled nervously. Waiting to see what Keith would say. 

“Well I don’t care one bit, because this means that we can finally have a date. First in months.”

Lance perked up. “Oh yeah, well we would have to slip away from the group. But that can be easy... I hope.”

They shared a laugh, before it was interrupted by Keith’s yawn. 

“Oh yeah, sorry I will let you go back to sleep. I am going to tell the others the news.”

Lance practically skipped out the door in search of his other friends. Keith shook his head, with a fond smile on his face. He layed back down and within minutes was asleep. 

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Lance ran to Green’s hanger where Hunk and Pidge were working on updates. 

“Guys, guess what!” He yelled bursting through the door. “I got us a vacation day!”

He looks around and noticed that they aren’t there. They must be with a different lion. However when he checked the other hangers, he found no one. He frowned, maybe they were in one of the communal rooms. But again he found no one. He sighed, they were probably off with Coran, fixing the castle. It didn’t happen often, but when it did they could be gone for days with no trace of them. 

Lance didn’t bother trying to find them, knowing that he would instead get lost in the castle. Instead he headed to the bridge and sat down. He activated the star map and looked at all the planets. He decide to look at the planet that they would be stopping at. It was called Lithios, there were no native aliens, at least a 1000 years ago there weren't any. The planet had mostly forests covering it. But there was one large lake that the paladins would be able to swim in. it looked like a perfect place to take Keith for a date. Lance could picture them walking around in the forest holding hands, then eating a picnic, finally they would go and swim together. It sounded perfect for him, and he couldn't wait

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Keith woke up this the sound of the castle’s alarms going off. He blearily opened his eyes, before standing up, grabbing his coat and sprinting to the bridge. When he arrives he was slightly disappointed to notice that he was the last one to arrive and that he was the only one not in armor. Allura looked at him crossly, folding her arms. 

"Why are you so late Keith? And to make matters worse you are the only one not in armor. What were you doing that was so important, that you had to come in late?"

Keith looked up, guilt sitting in his stomach. "I'm sorry, Allura. I was sleeping and I guess that I didn't hear the first alarms. I knew that I didn't have time to grab my armor either."

Allura looked disappointed in him and looked away, no longer acknowledging him. She turned towards the console and pointed to a blob of purple that was moving fast towards a blue blob. 

"Some Galra cruisers are heading towards us. We don't know whether they are scouting these planets or if they saw us. Either way, you must be ready to fight and jump into your lions to meet them."

At that she looked out of the side of her eye at Keith. Lance saw that and frowned. Keith was getting a hard time, no other person was getting this type of treatment. It really irked Lance, especially since he knew that he had done this exacted thing himself multiple times and he was never scolded more than once, if even that. 

Finally Allura let them go to their lions, and do that Keith could suit up. They went into their Lions and flew out of the castle to apprehend the cruisers. Lance opened up a side connection with Keith. 

"Hey are you okay? Allura was giving you a really hard time. I should have stepped in and said something." Lance frowned to himself. 

Keith noticed and replied, "Don't worry Lance, this happens often and I am used to it. It doesn't bother me and if it did I would tell Allura. You know that I would."

Lance looked scandalized. "This is a normal occurance?! How come you never told me? How have I not noticed?! No one should be used to that. It isn't very nice and Allura is putting you down. She nevers does that to anyone, not even me and I am definitely not her favorite. 

Keith looked at him weirdly before shutting Lance out, saying, "It's fine Lance, just let it go, okay?"

Then he pushed a button on his console cutting off their conversation. Lance was stunned and a little hurt. Keith had gotten much better at communicating how he felt and not shutting out people. So why was Keith shutting him out now? And more importantly, why was this the first that Lance was hearing about Allura talking this way to Keith?

Lance was distracted the whole fight. It had started as a few cruisers, who had brought a Galra fleet. He was too distracted to do much, which was obvious to everyone. Shiro and Pidge both snapped at him to focus while Hunk just took in more to accommodate for Lance's shortcomings. Keith was just in his own thoughts, not noticing anything and just going through muscle memory to perform attacks.

The others noticed that as well and when the fight was over and they were at the bridge for a debrief, the two were yelled at and criticized pretty harshly. They went after Lance first and then Keith. Allura went really hard on Keith and insulted Lance during her critiques. At that point Keith snapped and started to tell at her. 

“What did you just say?” Keith’s voice was really low.

Allura looked slightly annoyed and shocked, “Well I said that he hasn’t been paying attention. It could have hurt anyone of you. It wasn’t right, even if Lance isn't at the same level as you guys, he should still focus.”

Keith growled at her, “First off, you don't get to say that. Lance is the only one who talks to me and cheers me up. He is valued, but you know what? He doesn't feel that way because of you! You don't get to critique Lance, when he has done nothing wrong. We have all done the same thing and not focused. But you never yell at anyone else. You have never been out there risking your life. So you don't get to criticize us. And if anything, I should be criticized, that's all you do right?” His voice had been dangerously low the entire time.

The room was silent, everyone stunned. Then Shiro stepped in and defended Allura.

“You need to calm down Keith. You are not allowed to yell at someone that way. Besides she is right. You AND Lance were not paying attention. It was noticeable and we all had to work twice as hard in order to make up for your mistakes.”

“Oh, so now you are defending her? That’s not fair or right, Shiro, and you know it.”

At that point Shiro, Keith and Allura started to yell at each other. The others stood to the side awkwardly, until Hunk stood in and yelled. 

"HEY! EVERYONE NEEDS TO CALM DOWN NOW!" He waited a second until they listened to him. "Good, now let's all take deep breaths and calm down. Yeah, okay, Lance and Keith should have paid more attention in the battle, but you two, Shiro and Allura, shouldn't have been so hard. Then we were all at fault and yelled at each other which was not okay. So let's all calm down and go our separate ways."

Everyone agreed, but before they went their own ways, but suddenly Allura yells over her shoulder. 

"You know what? I am taking away the vacation day tomorrow. The two of you need to work more."

Lance turned around and stared at her. Keith noticed this and grabbed his arm. Lance sputtered out in protest and tried to go after her. However, Keith stopped him. When they entered Lance's room, Lance started to complain to him about how unfair it was. Keith just shook his head. 

"Lance, calm down. This is actually great. We can hangout here while everyone else is down there. I know that you wanted to go to the beach. But we will have to make do. We can go to the pool or get some food and hot chocolate and go to the bridge."

"Yeah, I guess. I just was looking forward to showing you all the different wildlife and taking a walk or having a picnic. That would have been fun that's all."

Lance looked down at his feet, sitting on the bed. Keith sighed.

"I know what you are talking about. That would have been fun, but we will just have to make do. It'll will be alright, just watch. We won't have avoid anyone or worry if we will get caught."

Lance looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah. It'll be fine, plus who knows. Maybe Allura will change her mind."

At that both Lance and Keith started to laugh, Allura never changed her mind, especially when she believed someone to be in the wrong and herself to be in the right. Pidge walked outside them and shook her head wondering what was so funny after the fact that they got their vacation day taken away.

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Keith and Lance stood to the side. Watching the paladins suit up and climb into their lions. Hunk and Pidge had both come up and apologized about going on the trip and leaving the two alone. They both said that they were fine and to not feel guilty. They didn’t want to be the ones that were the reasons that they didn't enjoy their vacation. Shiro had taken the option of leaving the two alone and ignoring then. Allura had come up to then an Ms said that hat they would be gone at least a couple hours and that she expected them to train for at least two hours. 

The boys had decided beforehand that they would train first and then hang out together. They didn't want to end a date to go train. They would rather train and have a undecided time left. This also made sure that if the team decided on coming back earlier, they would still have the training hours in. 

When the team left the two boys left and put on some protective gear on before grabbing their bayards. They set the to training robot to level ten and set to work. They were able to work very well together. Their elements swirling around each other and battering the drone. They had gotten better at controlling the elements. Lance could now summon it at will, and change it into ice, snow or just leave it at water. Keith was still trying to get the hang of it and could only heat up. He could summon small flames on the palm of his hand, but he did not have the mastery of Lance. It annoyed him to no end, especially since Lance bragged about it 24/7. 

The rest of the team were starting to show signs of controlling elements. Pidge would have plants surrounding her. They would sometimes surround her body and give her a protective shell, sometimes they would have thorns and strike out. Hunk would have small stones that could hoist him up so that he had a height advantage. He was the newest to these powers so they hadn’t really developed. Meanwhile Shiro, would sometimes have burst of winds that could knock down his opponent. They were grouped at best and sporadic at most times. However none of them were in tune as Keith or Lance. Keith and Lance hadn’t noticed the elements. The elements hadn’t hindered them in the slightest, however they often tripped up the other paladins.  
After the hours the boys noticed the time and left. They desperately needed a shower and a change in clothes. After a nice long shower the two were found in the bridge, each holding a warm couple of hot chocolate and talking quietly. Lance decide that this was the best time to address a previous topic.

“Hey, Keith, what did you mean before? When you said that you were used to Allura talking to you that way? Does she really do that?”

Keith sighed, knowing that this topic was bound to come up. “Well, she often praises you guys. She will lift you up and when you mess up, she doesn’t outright yell at you to just change.” Keith let out a breath of air from bubbled cheeks. “I guess that it started when we found out that I was half-Galra. Even though she apologized for her actions, she still treats me this way.”

Lance’s eyes were wide. They had found out about Keith being half-Galra a couple of months ago, about half a year. Had he really been going through this treatment the whole time? Lance voiced his thoughts.

Keith smiled fondly at him, touched that he care this much. “I guess, yeah, I have. I just never cared too much. At the Garrison, I was treated the same. I was the best, but a disciplinary problem. Because of that a lot of kids hated me, as well as the teachers. My whole life I have been shut out or cast aside. I guess that it just became a part of me.” He had been looking at the stars as he said that last part. When he looked at Lance, he was surprised to see tears swimming in Lance’s eyes. “Oh! I didn’t mean to make you cry! I am sorry!” He leaned forward to brush them out of his eyes. 

Lance was reeling. Keith, who was trustworthy, fiery, and loyal, he was pushed aside? And never loved? Lance found it impossible that someone had not loved Keith. Keith was honestly a dork and Lance was just now getting to see this side. It was one of the reasons why he fell in love with Keith. 

“I love you, okay? I will always love you. You don't have to ever feel that way again. I will never leave you alone, so that you never have a chance to feel that way. I am so sorry that you had to feel this way your entire childhood, no one, especially a child, should ever have to feel that way.”

Lance was openly crying, silent tears falling down his face. Keith was taken aback, overwhelmed, not used to hearing something like that. Shiro occasionally said something like that. But no one ever had really been this serious or this passionate with him.

Keith leaned over and cupped Lance’s face. They met in the middle, kissing gently. After a moment, they pulled apart. 

“Thank you , Lance. No one has ever been that serious with me. I- You have been the first to ever say anything like that. Not even Shiro said anything like that. Sure, he took care of me, but he, he never was a friend. He was almost twenty years older than me, he couldn't connect with me. So thank you. I- It means so much to me.”

They met again, kissing sweetly and then pulled away. They were silent for a while before Lance spoke up again.

“We should probably move before the team comes in. Can we go to your room? I don't really want to separate right now.”

Keith nodded, they stood up and returned their mugs to the kitchen, and their blankets to the storeroom. Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and walked with him to his room. They took their time enjoying the silence and peace that they had.  
When they got to Keith’s room, they had to decide what to do. They could either cuddle and risk the rest of the team seeing them. The other option is to be completely opposite and not touching. However they didn’t really want that. So they decide to be on opposite sides, but their legs would be tangled together under the blanket. They were up until midnight, talking, waiting for the rest of the team to come. 

When the team finally came, they searched around looking in Keith’s room last. Pidge and Hunk jumped on Lance dragging him away. They were really excited, talking a mile a minute, about the planet. They were more excited about facts such as the atmosphere and wildlife. Shiro went into the room wanting to talk to Keith. He wanted to make sure that Keith and Lance had actually worked on their elemental powers and their teamwork.

However neither party was able to talk to them for long. The boys fell asleep, exhausted.The boys had been through an emotionally exhausting time. It had drained them and they weren’t really able to function. They were moved into a comfortable place and position and left alone until the morning. In the morning, they had to succumb to the rest of the team talking about the vacation. 

They were thankful however that no one asked them about what they did. Lance doubted that anyone would buy that he worked out the whole time. However Keith could pull that off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was much shorter than the last one. I didn't really have any idea about what they would talk about in the bridge, so I really just skipped over that. Let me tell you guys, I actually had a scene all thought out about a forest/beach date. It was going to be really cute. But of course I had to ruin that idea. Sorry. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got this out, thank you for being patient with me. I have finals in two weeks, so this week is piled with homework. It might take awhile to get the next one out again, but hopefully it will be up by either the 19th or 22nd. Fingers crossed.

The morning found the paladins waking up to a loud alarm. Coran was on the bridge, yelling at them to wake up. They had received a transmission from a nearby planet. It was a planet that had a lot of people and animals. The animals had a vitamin that was very useful to the Galra. It helped them grow stronger and faster. The people were very strong and were used for the dirty work. They were the ones in charge of building the ships.    
  
However the paladins received the transmission too late. The Galra had already occupied the planet. So what the paladins planned on doing is going on the battleship and releasing the prisoners. 

 

Keith and Hunk would be distracting the Galra ship, while Pidge, Shiro, and Lance would be sneaking up in the Green Lion. It seemed like a sound plan, but of course nothing ever went the way it was supposed to. Several things went haywire, actually.

 

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It started with Hunk and Keith. It took longer than it should have to grab the attention of the Galra. They didn’t notice the Yellow and Red lion in front of them for at least ten minutes. At the same time the Green lion had landed on the ship. It set off a warning bell in Keith’s head. 

 

The second warning bell came from when the communications were filled with static for a good minute. Neither side of the team could reach each other. Not even Pidge, which was slightly alarming. However Shiro told the rest of the team to just ignore it. Of course Keith just made a mental note, but didn’t forget it. 

 

The third warning bell was when the Galra weren’t trying. Hunk was the one to point it out, but the Galrans weren’t really fighting. There weren't as many as there usually would be, and they weren't hitting them. 

 

The final warning bell came when Lance commented on the fact that they had seen no patrols, or any single Galra warriors. This was weird. Every ship had a patrol that they had to deal with. However before Keith could voice his concerns to Shiro, he heard a shout. Then nothing. 

 

“Shiro? Lance? Pidge? What is happening? Guys I need information.” Keith started to panic, internally. He opened up a communication link with Hunk. “Are you able to contact the rest of the team? I can’t reach them.”

 

Hunk looked over briefly at Keith, before going back to blasting the enemy. “Uhh, no I lo- shit, go away, I lost connection with them, ok you know what come back here! But I doubt that it is anything. I bet that Pidge and Lance are just playing a prank on us.” Hunk went back to talking to enemy, while Keith frowned, thinking over what he had said. 

 

He didn’t believe that Shiro would do that, he would want everyone to be focused. Lance, after they started to date, had realized how much Keith worried. Keith always jumped to the worst conclusion and was protective of those he cared about. After finding this out, Lance had started to check what he was doing during missions and make sure not to worry Keith. Shiro had noticed it and praised Lance about it. 

 

He looked over at Hunk, “I don’t think that Shiro would do that. He would want them to focus.”

 

Hunk frowned briefly, “Yeah I guess. Here why don’t we finish at least half of these guys off before leaving? That way we have a clear escape.”

 

Keith wasn’t okay with the plan. If the team was truly in danger, than it would be disastrous if they were left in there. But he knew that it made sense. “Alright… fine, I guess that works.”

 

Keith and Hunk worked twice as hard to clear the area of most of the pilots. However as soon as half of the fighters were gone, Keith zoomed off towards the main ship. Hunk was left behind, not noticing him leaving. Keith landed on the bottom of the ship and floated out of his lion. When he landed, he used his jet-pack to stay in place and then summoned his bayard. He quickly cut a hole in the side and jumped through it. He looked around but just saw an empty hallway. 

 

He looked around and decided to keep pushing forward. He looked at his map to where the paladins’ blinkers were. Pidge had uploaded the map to each of their lions and armors. It seemed like the team was moving way too fast. They weren't being cautious at all. He tried the mic one more time. 

 

There was nothing. 

 

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Lance opened his eyes, slowly. He blinked twice, seeing nothing but pitch black. He called out softly, waiting a response. He got nothing back. He reached towards his helmet to turn on the comm, but felt his hair. Lance slowly checked over himself for injuries, glad to see that there were only a few bruises, nothing was broken. Lance thanked whoever was out there, before getting up. 

 

He walked with his arms stretched out in front of him, feeling for a wall. Instead of a wall, he tripped over a warm object on the floor. Feeling the object slightly, he found that it was a body. He shook the person, stopping when he heard their breathing change and they started to groan softly. 

 

“Huh- Wh-where am I?” It sounded like Pidge to Lance. Lance sighed in relief, glad that it was a human, and that it was a paladin.

“It’s okay Pidge, it's just me. We were captured and brought here… I think. I don't know where we are.”

 

Lance felt Pidge relax slightly in his arms, before she got up and start to mess with something. Then there was a soft light coming from her wrist. Lance smacked himself, he had forgotten about his screen. Each of the paladin’s armor had a monitor on them, but with different main functions. They could each pull up a map and check the armor’s stats. Pidge had a way to connect her monitor to a Galran mainframe and control from up to thirty feet away. Hunk could pull up designs for just about anything, it helped to sabatoge machines and run. Shiro had a way to see everyone’s armor stats and could disable the moving mechanism. That was helpful, especially when Keith would work too hard when he was injuried. Keith and Lance had the same thing on their monitor. It would show their quintessence levels, since they were the most advanced into their elements, with a wide variety for Lance and an overall pressure from Keith.

 

Pidge lit up her monitor and looked around cautiously. Lance followed her lead and lit up his monitor. They found that Shiro was propped in the corner of the cell. Lance walked over to him and shook him slightly, while Pidge looked at the map. Shiro woke up easily, not really confused and turned on his monitor to lighten up the cell. Pidge cried out softly in surprise, calling Shiro’s and Lance’s attention to the young woman. She showed them her map, Keith’s dot was inside, moving slowly. But Hunk was nowhere in the ship or right outside of it. When Pidge zoomed out, Hunk was a couple galaxies away.

 

This was shocking, they assumed that the ship hadn’t moved from it's regular position or at least not very far. They didn’t have a way to get back, the lions hadn't left the castle and Green had returned to the castle. It didn't seem as though the red lion had stayed by Keith, he had probably sent it away as to not get captured. This left no easy and stealthy options to leave. The obvious option was to take a Galran ship, but that would be dangerous. Pidge quickly switched over to the ship’s mainframe, which she had gotten into before, and looked at the cameras. There were about seventy guards in the room, walking around the room. At some points twenty guards would leave and two minutes later twenty would come in and replace them. This left a two window to get a ship, while being attacked by fifty drones and Galras. It would be tight, but doable. 

 

Then Pidge looked at each camera, stopping when she found Keith. He was close to the hanger, but right before he would cross by the door, he stopped. He peeked through and crept into the room. Pidge changed the camera to show the hanger, and the first thing that she saw was four Galras laying on the floor, unconscious. Then she looked towards Keith and she saw him against at least twenty drones and Galras, with more coming. But since it was Keith, he was winning. His fire was jumping everywhere, surrounding groups of two or three, the moving on. He would attack on the opposite side, as if aware of the fire, which Pidge knew was not true. He would never notice the fire, same with Lance. She watched as Keith single-handedly took out at least twenty drones and fifteen Galras, then his fire had knocked out another twenty-three, a mixture of drones and Galras. Add the four from earlier and Keith had just taken out 62, with eight left in the hanger. He turned to face them, their faces turned a pale purple. 

 

Keith just watched them run out before heading the opposite way. Pidge didn’t know what his plan was. She quickly sent a little ping towards his monitor. He looked at it briefly, then looked towards the camera, sending a pair of thumbs up and running off. Pidge smile, glad that he had actually looked this time. But that was a thought for later, she had things to do. 

 

“Hey Shiro,” She asked, “Does your arm still work? We need to get out of here.”

 

Shiro thought for a second, “Yeah, it should, what should I use it on?”

 

Pidge smiled, “I would use it on that wall over there. It leads to the control room… Can I just say how terrible this ship’s floor plans are? I mean honestly, who puts a cell next to a control room? Any criminal could break through to the control room. It is -”

 

Lance interrupted Pidge, “We need to go Pidge, you can continue your rant later.”

 

Pidge nodded and the three of them set out. 

 

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Keith made his way towards the ion cannon’s room. Pidge had sent him a message to disturb the ion cannon in order for them to escape easily. The small ships on board the battleship would be easily destroyed if they came into contact with the ion cannon. It was a good plan, the only problem was that there was at least forty soldiers protecting it. Keith was tired from his fight before, not ready to fight another forty. 

 

Keith sighed and sat, catching his breath and getting strength in preparation. He looked briefly at his monitor to see his quintessence levels. They were dangerously low, which meant that Keith would have less help than before. He thought for a minute before admitting defeat and sent a message to Lance. Lance was the most equipped to help him, and Keith wanted to see his boyfriend, to make sure that he was okay. 

 

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Lance heard a ping and looked down at his monitor. 

 

**RED:**

Hey Lance, my quintessence levels are low and there are forty soldiers over here. Do you think that you can help me?

 

Lance looked up, “Hey guys is it okay that I go help Keith? He says that his quintessence levels are low and that there are forty guys to attack… Uhh, hello? Guys? What are you doing?”

 

With Keith momentarily forgotten, Lance walked over to Pidge and Shiro. 

 

Pidge looked up at him, nudging her glasses, “Uh, don’t worry about it… What was your question again?”

 

“Can I help Keith? His quientess- ”

 

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine. I honestly wasn’t sure if he would call in. I mean he fought off around sixty Galras, by himself.”

 

Lance yelped, “What! He did what! Why would he-!”

 

Pidge rolled her eyes, “He didn’t beat your high score, don’t worry. Now hurry over to him. We need the ion cannon down as soon as possible.”

 

Lance was pushed out, sputtering, “Wha- I- Right, I am still in the lead- Is he okay-” The door was slammed in his face. Lance sighed, looked down at his monitor and figured out the quickest way to Keith. 

 

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**BLUE:**

 

I am on my way, hold tight. Also, how come you fought off 62 Galras by yourself? That’s crazy. I can’t do that, what the hell man?

 

**RED:**

 

Yeah well, I didn't have much of a choice. I didn't know if you were alive. All I wanted to do was to see you again…

 

**BLUE:**

 

Apology accepted. But next time, don't be that sappy. I don't know if I am actually forgiving you or not. 

  
  


Keith chuckled, shutting off his monitor. 

 

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Lance sprinted down the hall towards Keith, he was ready to see him and figured that Keith probably felt worse. Due to the Galran side, Keith usually felt stronger feelings towards his mate.  Lance turned the last corner and stopped. Keith looked paler than normal, and instead of being on watch and being tense, Keith was sitting against the wall, trying to catch his breath. This was not normal, which meant that Keith's quintessence levels were lower than he let on.

 

Lance wanted to smack Keith. Why had he thought that it was a good idea to attack those 62 Galrans? It was dangerous and reckless, more than usual. Lance stalked up to Keith and knelt down. Grabbing his face, he pulled him into a sweet and gentle kiss. When they broke away, Lance’s face was full of concern.

 

“Don't you dare do that again. It was dangerous and reckless. I am not going to be happy if you die, you know that? Do you think that I want you to die, trying to protect me? NO, just like how you wouldn't like it if I died trying to protect you. Don't do that again.”

 

Lance’s voice was hard, masking the fact that he was about to cry. He pulled Keith in for another kiss, this one a little harder, before standing up. He help Keith stand up as well. 

 

“So what are we facing here?”

 

Keith looked sort of dazed but shook it off, focusing on the task at hand. “Um, there are around forty Galras to attack. I have really low quintessence levels, so you will take most of the fighting. Sorry about that.”

 

Lance held Keith at arm’s length, “Don't be sorry, I will always be happy to help you out.”

 

Keith blushed and nodded, “Alright let’s go in.”

 

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Pidge and Shiro were in the control room. Surprisingly there were only four drones monitoring the room. Figuring that the rest of the drones and Galras were at the ion cannon, Pidge and Shiro didn't hesitate to take them down. They worked quickly and in no time, Pidge was in the computer and was shutting down all the drones. They seemed to have been connected to the main computer, which was a terrible plan. She hoped that it helped Keith and Lance. But she didn’t have any time to spare on their wellbeing, as cruel as that sounds. The net job was to navigate Shiro to the holding cells to see if there were any prisoners. 

 

“Alright Pidge, I came to the first crossroad, where do I go?”

 

Pidge looked at the main computer, “Uh, it looks like a left. Yeah, a left. But be careful there is a patrol headed your way.”

 

Pidge heard his affirmative and looked at the main computer, she was trying to see the ongoing fight in the ion cannon control room. However it seemed like for some odd reason, they didn’t think to put in a camera. She grabbed the drone next to her and plugged it into the main computer, thinking that all the drones must be connected. She let out a noise of confusion as all she saw was a screen of static. She frowned before realizing that there was no other drone that was one. She looked through the computer before finding a broken drone and turning on the live feed. 

 

It turned on successfully, and she saw something out of the corner of her eye, but didn't have time to focus on it. Shiro was asking her another question about where to go, so she had to turn her focus onto the map. She answered quickly if not abrupt, before turning back to the live feed. But this time all she saw was ice and water swirling around the room, fire flickering weakly as the pair navigated around the room. She sighed thinking that it must have just been her imagination, but she could have sworn that she saw Keith and Lance embracing. She sighed and turned her focus back to Shiro, looking back every now and again at the battle. 

 

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Keith sighed and leaned against the wall, catching his breath. Lance was checking the room to see if there was any more Galras or drones hiding. When he was satisfied, he walked over to Keith. 

 

“How are you holding up? You look like shit.”

 

Keith smiled and punched Lance lightly, “So I look like you?” He chuckled at Lance’s betrayed face.

 

“Babe, you wound me. I always look fabulous and you know that. But seriously, how do you feel?” Lance put his hand to Keith’s head, testing his temperature. Keith shook his hand off, “I feel fine, ok? I am just worn out and I need a long nap.” 

 

Lance nodded at that, “Do you think that you will need help getting back, or will you be fine piloting Red?”

 

Keith shook his head, “No I’ll be fine, besides I would not risk going with you. It will attract a lot of attention, you know that.”

 

Lance huffed and leaned against the wall, “I- I wish that we didn’t have to hide, y’know? I want to just be able to show myself freely, but I don’t think that the others will react well. I know that Pidge was raised up against it and Hunk was kind of as well. I researched into the Alteans’ history and beliefs and it seems like they never had anything like it. I just- ugh” He ended his sentence with a punch to the wall. 

 

“I know Lance, I wish the same thing every day.” Keith looked into Lance’s strikingly blue eyes, “But you know that we have to. We have no idea about how the team will respond, so if we want to keep doing this, we must hide.” He kissed him softly before pulling away, “C’mon, Pidge and Shiro might need help. 

 

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Pidge had finished leading Shiro to the prisoners’ holdings, so she switched her focus back to the fight in the ion cannon control room. She had muted the sound as to not distract herself, but now she turned it back on. She could see nothing, she assumed that Lance had cut this one video feed once seeing the light in its eyes. It was smart but right now it annoyed Pidge. As soon as she turned on the audio she heard what seemed to be the middle of a conversation. 

  
  


_ “It will attract a lot of attention, you know that.” _

 

Pidge frowned, wondering what they were talking about.

 

_ Lance huffed, “I- I wish that we didn’t have to hide, y’know? I want to just be able to show myself freely, but I don’t think that the others will react well. I know that Pidge was raised up against it and Hunk was kind of as well. I researched into the Alteans’ history and beliefs and it seems like they never had anything like it. I just- ugh”  _

 

Pidge heard a thump and assumed that Lance had hit the wall. But what was Lance talking about? What was he hiding, that he didn't want to share with the rest of the crew except for Keith? It hurt Pidge, thinking that Lance didn't trust him. And it was odd that out of all people, it was Keith that he trusted with this secret. 

 

_ “I know Lance, I wish the same thing every day. But you know that we have to. We have no idea about how the team will respond, so if we want to keep doing this, we must hide. C’mon, Pidge and Shiro might need help. _

 

So apparently Keith was hiding the same thing, maybe that was way Lance trusted Keith with the secret. But now Pidge’s mind was swimming with questions. Somehow Pidge was raised a certain way as Hunk. And it had a connection with Altean culture, or rather the lack of it. How were Pidge and Hunk raised? She figured that she would have to have a long talk with Hunk. She quickly downloaded the snippet of the conversation and turned it off. The pair was headed towards her right now. 

 

She asked Shiro if he was ready for instructions to come back, and got an affirmative. She slowly started to say the instructions, step-by-step. She heard a creak behind her, but focused on the instructions, knowing that it was Lance and Keith. She held up her hand, telling them to be quiet. She heard packs falling to the ground and some shuffling, besides that it was quiet. When she was finally done, she wanted to talk to Keith and Lance, but knew that Shiro was there. She sighed and filed the conversation away for another time.

 

Shiro led the way this time, having had recently passed the hanger. They quickly went, Shiro had found twenty or so prisoners. It seemed like most of the drones and Galras were dead, but they were hesitant still. They each climbed into a Galran ship and set their coordinates. Each person took around five people, making the area cramped. They set off towards the castle. 

 

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When they got the castle, Hunk, Allura, and Coran ran up them. 

 

“You guys are OK! The ship disappeared on us and we didn’t have a way to track you.” Hunk blubbered on, while Allura brought Shiro to the side, talking in low tones. Coran walked over to Pidge, Keith and Lance.

 

“Ah, you all are OK. Hunk was out of his mind, wondering what happened to you four. I am glad that you are alright. Allura and I were searching all over, but the ship must have had blockers, because she felt nothing at all.”

 

Coran and Hunk were still talking when Allura came over. “Yes, yes, we are joyous that you four are back, but I want each of you to go in the healing pods, just in case. Were there any complications?”

 

Lance raised his hand, “Uh, yeah, Keith over here, got really dangerously low on quintessence, he almost passed out, so we need to do training on that.”

 

Allura nodded thoughtfully, “Yes I have been meaning to do some training and have some simulations ready, but until the rest of the team can control their powers, it will just be you and Keith. Is that ok?”

 

Lance and Keith shared a look, “Uh, it should be fine, we can switch every other day when we train and do the quintessence simulations. Are these going to be hard?” Lance winced and looked up at the princess. 

 

She sighed, “No, Lance, at least not at first, it will be like the bot training, it will progressively harder.”   
  


Lance let out a sigh and nodded. The rest of the team had gone ahead towards the medical center. “So Princess~ what are you doing later? Want some company?” He shot her a pair of finger guns, mouth forming his signature smirk. 

 

She sighed, “I thought that we agreed no flirting in exchange for the vacation.”

 

“Well we did, but then I wasn’t allowed to go so I just decide to keep flirting.”

 

Allura shook her head and stalked off. Lance sighed watching her go, before turning to go to the medical center. There he and the other three paladins were set into a healing pod. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I do this? It's like I want them to be caught, but I really want to continue this. BUT I AM NOT MAKING IT EASY. 
> 
> Anyway, what do you think that Pidge is going to do? Find out in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have noticed that this is turning more into a story than a series of oneshots. If it keeps going, I will probably stop calling it a collection of oneshots. It probably won't impact anything, except for the fact that it will be tied together more closely. Just wanted to say something.

The door opened silently, showing Lance’s room. Then Keith rushed in carrying Lance. Lance had his legs wrapped around Keith’s torso, his hands in his hair. Keith pushed Lance against his wall, hoisting him up. They were kissing hungrily and furiously. Lance smirked into the kiss, feeling Keith’s hardness. He pulled back earning himself a whine. Keith moved forward to recapture his mouth.

“Getting excited are we?” Lance was smirking at Keith, as he pouted. 

The boys had not been alone for a little over a week. Between the attacks and the training, the boys had been too exhausted to do anything. This had made their hormones go everywhere. When they had seen a chance to leave, they had taken it right away, making excuses about how they were tired. 

Keith growled at Lance, “Yeah, I am. But so are you, and the only way that I am going to stop is if you don't want to do this. Now unless you want to stop, please stop doing that. I want to make you scream my name while I fuck out your brains.”

Lance’s breath caught, “Ok, I'll stop.” His voice was breathy while he waited for Keith to start moving.

Keith smirked, taking notice of his voice, before lowering his head to Lance’s neck. Lance gasped at the graze of Keith’s teeth. When Keith started to suck on the spot where the neck meets collarbone, Lance moaned. He was thankful that Keith was holding him, otherwise, he would be on the ground, unable to support himself.

Keith moved over to the bed, laying him down.

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The rest of the team were hanging out in the lounge room. Pidge was clacking away at her computer, working on an algorithm. Hunk was curled next to her, fiddling at some small project, and looking over Pidge’s shoulder. He made comments every once in a while, correcting her mistakes. Shiro and Allura were talking softly about their next mission, but every now and then they would start to reminisce about old memories. Coran was over at the side, occasionally looking up at everyone, before diving back into his hidden work.

They had just come from a really hard mission, and they wanted to just rest in each others presence. However, neither Keith nor Lance were with them. This put a sort of damper on things, but the time was still enjoyable.

Pidge wondered what the boys were doing. She doubted that they were actually sleeping, seeing as they were excited to leave. She had yet to talk to Hunk about anything, the week being packed with battles, training and searching for her father. She was exhausted and whenever she had gone to Hunk’s door to talk, he told her gently to go to sleep. 

But now everyone but Keith and Lance was here. It was the perfect time to talk to the team, seeing if more minds could help her come up with ideas. She pulled up the audio file and set aside her computer. 

“Can I talk to everyone, really quickly? It is important and about Lance and Keith, I think that there is something wrong that they won't tell us.”

It grabbed everyone’s attention, they looked at her, concerned. She swallowed before continuing, “So when we were on the Galra ship, I was trying to watch Lance and Keith’s battle, to make sure that they would be ok. In the middle of the fight, my attention was dragged to Shiro and I left the feed alone. When I went back I heard them talking. It was in the middle of a conversation and it concerned me, so I recorded it.”

Pidge grabbed her computer and started the audio clip. The team huddled around her, trying to listen. 

“It will attract a lot of attention, you know that.”

Lance huffed, “I- I wish that we didn’t have to hide, y’know? I want to just be able to show myself freely, but I don’t think that the others will react well. I know that Pidge was raised up against it and Hunk was kind of as well. I researched into the Alteans’ history and beliefs and it seems like they never had anything like it. I just- ugh” 

“I know Lance, I wish the same thing every day. But you know that we have to. We have no idea about how the team will respond, so if we want to keep doing this, we must hide. C’mon, Pidge and Shiro might need help.”

The audio cut off. She looked up at the team’s faces. Shiro was thoughtful, Hunk looked hurt, Coran and Allura were talking quietly, trying to figure out what it was. 

“That is where the audio ends. I have listened to this maybe a couple dozen times but I haven’t gotten a single clue as to what it is. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas. I didn’t want to confront them because they might back out or be suspicious of us.” Pidge looked around at them. “Hunk, what is a way that we might have been raised similarly?”

Hunk thought for a minute, “I don’t actually know, we should talk about that later. Right now we should focus on things that we can actually figure out quickly. What do Lance and Keith have in common?”

Everyone looked at each other, Pidge spoke up, “Well we know that they hate each other, but are able to confide in each other. That is the most confusing part of this puzzle. The next thing that we know is if the secret came out, none of us except for maybe Shiro would be very accepting, uh, that’s it. We know nothing else, yet.”

Shiro spoke to Pidge, “Have you seen anything else since then? Anything that can help us?”

Pidge shook her head, “Sadly no, I haven’t had much time alone, and when I did, I searched for my father. But in telling you guys this, I hoped that you would help me to notice these small things.”

Everyone nodded, then Allura spoke up, “I might be able to see what Lance was reading and where he was in a book. So if he was reading a book on Altean history, the computer would be able to tell me where in the book he was. “

Pidge brightened up, “Yeah that would work, but would Lance know of this technology? Would he be able to throw us off?”

Allura shook her head, “No, I told no one of this, assuming that it wouldn’t be useful for anyone. I am glad that I didn’t as it will help us now. Let me go to the library quickly, I will return with the book and show you all where exactly Lance was reading.” With that Allura stood up and walked out of the door. The rest of the team sat there, anxious for her return. When they saw Allura return, their blood went cold. Her face was grave and she carried two books. Lance had been reading up on anatomy and diseases as well as cultural relationships and functions.

It would seem like Lance was sick, but that couldn’t be true. Could it? They were bound to have noticed. Allura sat down and opened the book to two different places. One showed relationships between Alteans and how they acted. The other was opened to a deadly disease. Pidge shivered, reading the text. The book defined a disease similar to Ischemic heart disease or Coronary artery disease. It was where fat deposits or plaque constricted the amount of blood that could reach the heart. It was dangerous and could lead to heart attacks and heart failure. 

Lance seemed to be in serious trouble. But it didn’t solve the question on why he would want to hide it, or why no one would be open to the idea. How were Pidge and Hunk raised against it? Instead of answering questions, it just brought more to Pidge’s mind. She grabbed the other book and read a small passage of it. It was a passage on relationships with outside aliens, aliens from a different planet. It stated that it was prohibited, this made more sense. Lance was most likely in a relationship with an alien not on the team. It made more sense, and she could see why Lance would think he wouldn’t be accepted. 

She looked up at the team, “I don’t think that Lance has Ischemic heart disease. It doesn’t make sense if you think about it. Hunk and I haven’t been raised against it. But if you look at this book it makes more sense. What it says is that Alteans are not allowed to have relationships with anyone who is not an Altean. I can see this more like a possibility. I am raised Catholic and I can see the Chuch not allowing humans to be with aliens. You just couldn’t know what they would be like, or their gender or anything about their species.”

Hunk nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense, I was raised in order with Catholic teachings, but we didn’t practice. I guess that lance would want to hide from us. The only reason why I think that he confided in Keith is, he was caught by him or he knew that Keith wouldn’t care, seeing as he is a Galra.”

Shiro nodded, “Now that we know that Lance isn’t in danger, the question is should we confront him or ask him about it?”

He paused waiting for a response but was given none. They sat together, pondering what they should do. 

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Lance was snuggled against Keith’s chest, smiling happily. “I am glad that we got this time. It took FOREVER! But it was worth the wait.” He burrowed into the blankets and Keith. 

Keith smiled over at him, his hand was carding through Lance’s hair. “Yeah… I loved it, but now we have to get cleaned up. C’mon.”

He stood up and grabbed Lance’s arm, dragging him out of the bed. Lance whined, feeling the cold air on his bare skin. But Keith was persistent, Holding on and leading him to the tiny bathroom that Lance had. It was small, with enough room for a shower and sink, for emergencies. But it was useful for times like now, where they wanted to hide. Keith turned on the shower and moved himself and Lance under the water.

“Keeeith, I am coold, let me go to the water and actually wash off.” Keith pushed him away, “Nope not letting that happen again. Last time you took all the hot water and I was stuck freezing. And I wasn’t able to wash off and I had to go to the communal bathroom. So tough luck.”

Lance stuck his tongue out at him and glared at him. However, he wasn’t able to keep that face for long and he sighed before reaching back to grab his conditioner. “Fine, you win. This time. Don’t expect it again. Next time I will be victorious.”

Keith shook his head, “Don’t plan on it. Besides, we have the same amount of water, so stop whining. At least I can share, unlike you, you hog.”

Lance frowned and poured some conditioner on his hand. As he started to scrub it in, he spoke, “Well fine, I guess that I will just suffer over here. Now do you want my help with your hair or not? I can help you wash the rest of your body too~” Lance’s voice turned into a purr. 

“No Lance, because then you and I both know that this shower would never finish. And I would just get dirty and so would you. So no to my body, but yes to my hair.” With that, Keith turned around and started to wash his own body. Lance sighed disappointed and start to wash his own hair. As Keith rinsed off the body soap, Lance started to wash his body. Keith waited on the side of the shower so that Lance could get the water. After he was done Lance turned towards Keith and got some conditioner. 

Keith smiled, this was his favorite part, having Lance’s fingers scrub his scalp. He let out a content sigh and let his muscles relax. After Lance was done, Keith turned around a hugged Lance, giving him a kiss. “I love way too much for my own good.” Lance laughed his face brightening. “Me too Keef.” He returned the kiss and hugged him back. Then he pulled away, “Now come on, we have to get that conditioner out and I want to snuggle.”

With that, Lance stepped out and started to towel off. Keith scrubbed out his conditioner and stepped out of the shower stall as well. Lance had started to pull on his pajamas, as Keith toweled off. Lance stepped out of the washroom and into the bedroom. He snuggled under the covers, as the door to his bedroom opened. Hunk walked in. 

“HEY HUNK!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? IN MY ROOM?”

Keith heard the shout. Looking around he decided that the best place to hide would be the shower stall. He quickly threw on his shirt and hid behind the curtain to the shower stall. He pressed his ear to the wall trying to hear what was being said.

Lance was stressed, why would Hunk come now? Lance said that he was going to be sleeping. What was Keith doing right now?

“Uh, hi Lance. I wanted to speak to you since we haven’t been able to lately. It’s been a crazy week.”

“Oh, haha yeah, um, we haven’t really talked. But I am really tired, so if this could be a quick talk?”

Hunk blinked, “Of course, but what has been up with you? Have you met anyone lately?” He nudged Lance and grinned. Lance was just frozen looking up at Hunk, eyes wide. He was wondering if Hunk found out. he decided to play along and pretend to talk about someone else. He broke into a smile. 

“Yeah actually, I met someone at the last planet. We have been talking for a while, I really like them so far.” Lance smiled softly, lost in thought of Keith. Hunk looked at him, before smiling as well. “That sounds great, Lance. Are you going to meet them soon?”

“Oh, no. Sadly not, they are moving soon and we don’t know each other well enough for them to tell me.”

Lance looked down, playing up the act. Hunk patted his shoulder, “That’s ok, Lance. I am sure that she will trust you soon.”

Lance looked down those words proof enough. They would never accept Keith and Lance being in a relationship, “Yeah, maybe someday.”

Then he looked up, “I think that I want to alone for now, if you don’t mind.” Lance laid down in his bed and pulled the covers up as Hunk stood up. “Oh, uh, of course. I’ll just go ahead and leave.” 

Hunk walked backward and into the door. He turned around and left, as the door closed he looked one last time at Lance. He seemed to be just lying there. Hunk sighed, hoping that he would be ok. But at least he had some information to help Lance. He walked down the hall to where the team was. 

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Keith peeked out of the bathroom door, looking around he saw that Hunk was nowhere to be found. However, Lance was laying in the bed and seemed to be crying softly. 

“Lance? Is everything alright? Actually, nothing is ok, I can see that. But what happened? Did Hunk do something? I couldn’t hear everything that was happening.” Keith continued to ramble on as Lance sat up. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have worried you. I-”

“Hey! None of that. Your feelings matter. And it is ok if you are upset. I am your boyfriend, it is in the job description for me to worry. Alright?”

Lance snuffled and nodded, “Yeah, yeah, I know. The problem was that one, I was lying to Hunk. I don't want to do that.” Lance looked up with wet eyes. Keith nodded in response and reached down to wrap Lance in his arms. “And the second problem is what Hunk said. Did you hear him? He kept talking about ‘her’. They will never accept you and me.”

Lance buried his face in his arms before softly crying. Keith rubbed up and down his arms, trying to comfort him. “It’s going to be ok, Lance. We can drop hints? Or, uh, OH, I know. You or I can see some man and hit on him in front of the team. We can decide what do next based off of the reactions. Don't worry, we can always do something.” Keith left a kiss on his forehead before getting up. “But now, we get to train. C’mon on Lance.”

Lance groaned, but he had a smile on his face, “I swear that you love to train more than you love me.” Keith chuckled and grabbed his hand pulling him out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Keith and Lance were up early, training. Per usual, Lance was complaining, asking when they were going to eat. Keith just rolled his eyes, “After you work on your guard. Your left arm is way too far down. Which leaves your left side open, that way I can do this.”

Keith punched his side and Lance grunted. “Well, you didn’t have to punch me. You could have just told me and not have done anything. Duh~ “

“Well, then how will you improve? You will just keep doing the same thing. Duhhh~”

Lance sighed, “I guess.” He continued to circle Keith, this time with his arm farther up. They went round and round, till Keith threw the first punch. Lance dodged it and threw his own punch, towards Keith’s face. Keith blocked it and took advantage of the opening, punching Lance’s stomach. Lance groaned but stayed upright. 

Keith looked slightly surprised, “I didn't expect you to take that so well.”

Lance chuckled, “Yeah well, I have been training. Y’know without you.” He raised his eyebrow, smirking. He was trying to get a rise out of Keith. Keith took the bait, “You did? Without me?”

Keith grabbed Lance’s arm and twisted it behind his back. This allowed Keith to push him to the ground, bayard over his throat. “How dare you!” Keith played into the act, “I trusted you. I can't believe that I did that.” Keith faked a sob, before letting Lance’s arm go. He chuckled, not getting up, “I love you, y’know that?” He kissed Lance softly, then heard a sound. He leaned away and drew up his bayard unto Lance’s throat again. 

He turned his head, looking towards the door. Shiro walked in and saw the pair on the ground. 

“Hey what are you two doing?”

Lance laughed, getting onto his forearms as Keith sat back, straddling him, “Uh, well we were training and Keith struck me to the ground. But not before I grabbed his arm, bringing him down with me. Then Keith rolled us over and pulled his bayard against my throat. Then you walked in.”

Shiro nodded, “Uh, ok? When have you guys started to train? I have never seen you two in here before noon.”

Keith chuckled, “We usually are gone by five. Then we go and get ready for the day, or at least I do. Lance will sometimes go back to sleep. Sorry, Shiro, we will get out of your hair now. 

“Oh that’s ok, I was just wondering who was in here. I heard some noises and decided to check it out. Are you two going to continue?”

Lance shook his head, “I am tired, not going to continue. Don't know about Keith though.”

With that, Lance walked out, towards the bathroom. Keith stretched, “Yeah, I think that I need a shower as well. See you at breakfast, Shiro. Hey Lance! Wait up! You had something wrong-”

His voice faded out as Shiro stood there. Was this part of the plan to keep Lance’s girlfriend hidden? Or were they just hanging out? He shook his head, Shiro was probably just looking into it too much. He started towards the dining room the stopped. They had never said how long that they had been training for, and Shiro wanted to know how far they had progressed. 

He walked over to the control console and pulled up the logs of training. Sure enough, there was training by the blue and red paladins, almost every day but every once in a while it was just Keith. He then looked at the progress charts and realized that together they were at the same point as the team. But then why was the team not farther ahead? Shiro realized why, the boys were practicing together, almost every day for a couple of hours. They were doing wonderfully on their own, but when the other three paladins joined the mix, it was harder to focus. It could throw off the rhythm that the two had. 

Shiro decided that he needed a new plan for training, one that could make a rhythm for the whole team. It would take some adjusting to, for all of them, but they would come out better in the end. With the plan in mind, he went to the dining room, wondering what was for breakfast.

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Keith ran after Lance, following him to the bathroom. They walked in together, chatting about Lance’s guard. 

“It was getting better at the end, and you stayed in longer. But it does need to be higher up.” Keith showed him his own fighting stance. Lance circled him and saw what Keith was talking about, “Ok, that does look better. But my stance is fine for now. I feel comfortable in it. Besides, did you take in to account the fact that I am taller than you, which means that I have to have my arm a little lower than yours.”

Keith looked at him for a moment, “Show me your fighting stance.” He started to circle him, looking at his arms. “I guess, but it does need to be a tiny bit higher.” He took Lance’s arm and moved it for him, “There. How does that feel?”

Hunk walked in on them, “Oh, hey you two. What are you doing?” He asked, taking in the strange scene before him. Lance was in a fighting stance, while Keith was circling him, eyeing his body. “Are you two… fighting? Or uh… I don't know what you two are doing.” He admitted. 

Lance ignored Hunk for a moment and chose to glare at Keith, “Ugh, fine, it is better. Now to answer your question, Hunk. Keith was helping me with my fighting stance. We were fighting earlier and he made a comment but didn't help me fix it. So now he is showing me how to hold myself. Now if you don't mind, I need a shower, I stink and need to get this sweat off of me.” With that Lance grabbed his stuff and headed towards his room. Keith nodded, “Yeah I need one as well, I just came to get some stuff that I left in here by accident.” Then Hunk was left alone in the bathroom. He turned and watched their backs. They seemed to be talking, but too low for Hunk to hear. 

Hunk shook his head and proceeded to brush his teeth and get ready for the day. Then he went to the kitchen in order to make pancakes. 

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Keith walked out of his room and towards the dining room. He knew that most everyone except for Lance would be there. He wondered if he should sneak over to Lance’s room. He figured that Lance would just be getting out of the shower. But he didn't want to get to breakfast late or make Lance even later. He sighed at the missed chance, but went towards the dining room, wondering what Hunk had made. Lance and Keith had practiced for much longer than usual and he had whipped up a hunger. 

As he left the hallway he saw Pidge. She was on the floor, with her computer on her lap. She seemed to have not noticed Keith, “Hey Pidge, do you happen to know what HUnk is making for breakfast?” He ignored her sight yelp and sat next to her trying to see her screen, “What are- Is that Lance and I training? When is that from?” 

His voice grew slightly frantic, as Pidge struggled to hide the screen. Keith took the computer and looked at it. “It is! Pidge, you can not let anyone see this! Please!” Keith begged while typing discreetly at her computer. 

Pidge looked at him, curiously, “And why is that Keith? What was happening? It was just training, or was there something else? Or should I say someone else?”

Keith hit the final key, “Fine, you can have it. It’s just that we didn't want to show our practices yet. We have been working really hard and Lance wanted to surprise the team with how well he was advancing. I think that he felt bad and that he didn’t have much to offer the team.” Keith’s face grew solemn, knowing that it was partly true. Lance had a low opinion of himself. “He was really excited too and since Shiro had found out, He wanted to do something today.”

Keith handed Pidge her computer back, waiting for her response. Her face looked stricken, having just learned of this tidbit of information. “Oh, I didn't know that he felt like that. If it will make him feel better than I won't look.” She closed the lid of her computer. “Well, uh, are you going to breakfast? Let me join you.” They walked down the hallway, keeping silent, both processing different thoughts.

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Lance stepped out of the shower and started to pull on his clothes. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was nine. He yelped realizing that the practice was going to start soon. He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the room. As he turned the corner out of the hallway, he started to pull on his jacket. He skidded into the kitchen and let out a sigh, noticing that they were all there. But he still only had a short time to eat. He hurriedly grabbed a plate and grabbed some pancakes, drowning them in syrup. As he sat down he dug in, trying to listen to the chatter. He heard about a new training exercise plan and groaned. That usually meant bad news. 

The other thing that he heard was that Keith and himself were going to fight for the team. He choked on his pancake, which turned the attention to him. Hunk lightly pounded his back, “You okay there?” Lance nodded, his eyes watering. “So, what’s this about a new training plan?” He looked around.

Shiro spoke up, “Well I have seen how well you and Keith have progressed by just yourself. So after your demonstration of how far you have gotten, I figured that we would pair up and train. Lance will be with Pidge and Keith with Hunk. I chose these because Lance and Keith have already worked together and Lance and Hunk are best friends. So I decided to keep you apart in order to make a better bond.”

Lance nodded, “Yeah that makes sense. But if you all don't mind, I want to talk to Keith about the demonstration.” Keith grimaced, knowing what the conversation would lead. The rest of the group nodded. Lance and Keith left the room standing right outside the room. The rest of the team got up and cleaned up the dishes. 

“WHAT THE HELL, KEITH? We are doing a demonstration? When did this happen? And why?”

Lance was standing, angry, his arms crossed. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, surprisingly, and he had liked keeping his progress a secret. Keith looked down uncomfortable, knowing this fact. “Well I was coming out of the hallway and Pidge turned out to be watching our training. Since we had kissed, I made an excuse for her not to look. I said some crap about you being insecure about our training. I was panicking and didn't think about it. But I deleted that day’s training. I figured that I could delete the specific times another day.”

He looked up, trying to judge Lance’s mood. Lance exhaled and nodded. “Alright, I guess that makes it a little better. But we need to get those other times deleted and replaced as soon as possible.”

Keith could tell that Lance was still a little mad with him. And that he was avoiding the subject of Lance being insecure, which was true. He sighed and grabbed Lance’s hand. He brought it to his face, keeping one eye on the door. 

“Please don't be mad. I was trying to help, but was also under a lot of pressure from Pidge.” He kissed his hand, “If it still upsets you, can I make it up to you?” Lance nodded, but pulled his hand away and looked down. “Let’s just get this over with.”

With those words, Lance entered the dining room, Keith staring dejectedly after him. He sighed knowing that it would take some time for Lance to forgive him completely. But it was a start, maybe.

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The team was suited up in the undergarments. It was protective enough where they wouldn't be hurt terribly, but they could still be bruised. Keith and Lance were in the center of the room, with their bayards drawn. Shiro had his own special simulation ready to run. 

“Alright, are you two ready? I have the simulation ready to run. Just as a warning, it has some moving structures as well as the robots.”

Lance and Keith nodded, “Yeah we are all ready to start.” Lance turned to Keith as Shiro turned the simulation on, “So how do you want to do this mullet? Separately, where I am in the crow’s nest, or where I am with you with my sword or pistol?”

 

Keith thought for a moment, “Let’s see how this turns out, but I think separate.” Lance nodded and the two split up as the ground was still forming. Lance saw a structure that was rising and ran towards it. He grabbed a piece of the wall and started to climb, the structure still rising. Keith had gone the opposite way, trying to get a feel of the layout. Lance saw him and made note of where he was. 

Keith had taken over a small building and was setting up something on his bayard. No one knew what he was doing except for Lance. He changed his bayard, which was new for the other paladins. Lance was the first to do it, he had been able to change his rifle into a smaller pistol as well as a broadsword. Keith was able to change his sword into a pistol as well as a mace. It was hard for Keith to get used to the mace, but it was useful sometimes. With the bayard changes came a couple of new abilities that Lance and Keith unlocked with the lions. 

Keith grabbed his bayard, which was the mace, and left the building. He heard a couple of small gasps at the sight of the mace but ignored them. “Lance, do you see the robots? I haven’t heard any or seen any. “

“Yeah, there are about five to the east of you. I am shooting off a group that is farther north. Take care of the ones closest to you.”

Lance stopped talking at that point and kept shooting. Keith could see the streaks from the bullets. He headed away from them and went towards the other five. He saw them quickly and changed to his pistol. He hid and shot a couple of them, incapacitating two of them. He grabbed the mace and went after the rest of the four. He smashed the first one’s head and swung his mace into the side of the others. Then he changed to his sword and sliced through the remaining two. 

“Do you need any help, Lance? I finished these five. And it seems that you finished the others.”

He waited for a response, assuming that Lance was scanning the area. “Uh, it seems that that was it? I don't see any, do you?”

Keith scanned the nearby area, “No I don't, do you think that Shiro finished it there?”

He opened a conversation to Shiro on his helmet, “Hey Shiro, how many robots were there? I think that we took down between ten and twelve. Neither of us sees any others.”

Shiro was shocked, “Oh, wow that was fast. No that is it. I’ll end the simulation, Lance should get out of the crow’s nest.”

Keith gave an affirmation, he opened the conversation with Lance again. “Ok, so it turns out that we defeated them all. So Shiro is going to end the simulation. He said that you should get out of the crow's nest.”

Lance gave a small noise, but nothing else. “Hey Lance, can we talk later? About this?”

Lance sighed, “Yeah, I’ll let you know when I am ready to talk.” He turned and walked towards Hunk, integrating himself into the conversation. Keith was a little hurt, but not shocked. He knew that he had hurt Lance, by betraying a part of him to someone that Lance wasn't ready to tell yet. He understood, but it still hurt Keith, by the way, Lance acted. 

Keith was still deep in thought when Shiro clapped him on the shoulder. “Keith? Did you hear me?”

Keith shook his head and gave a small smile. “No, sorry Shiro. I was just in my head. What were you saying?” He let the smile drop. 

“Well, I was just saying how you and Lance seem to be doing much better at working together and not arguing. So good job on that. Alright,” He said, speaking to the whole group, “Get in your groups. We are going to start the team exercise.” With that everyone groaned, not wanting to train. They paired up; Hunk with Keith and Pidge with Lance. With the pairs on opposite ends, Shiro put a gladiator with each of them. He gradually increased the levels until it was only Keith and Lance left. They were the most in shape and were able to keep going when Hunk and Pidge weren't able to. 

“Alrighty, that was a great start. Why don't you guys go take a twenty-minute break and then come back here?”

Everyone dispersed; Pidge to her tech room, Hunk to the kitchen and Lance to the lounge. Keith stayed sitting in the training room. He didn't know where to go and wasn't really tired. Shiro came up to Keith and sat with him. 

“What’s wrong, Keith? You would normally go out with everyone. Did something happen between you and Lance?”

Keith sat up ramrod straight, “What? Why would you think that?”

Shiro looked at him, “Well you two seemed out of it when you were working together. You seemed to be arguing, which I don't think is normal. Based off of how you reacted to some things that Lance said, it seems recent. What happened?”

Keith sighed, “I didn't think it was that obvious. To tell you the truth,” Keith looked at Shiro, wishing he could tell him the real story, “We got into a fight because Lance didn't want to do this. He wanted it to be a secret the whole time. He never wanted to show you guys how we were doing. He didn't want that spotlight on himself.”

Shiro frown, “That is what I would expect, but that is understandable. But I thought that you told us that he wanted to show us. That was the reason that we did this. What was the reason for you lying?”

Keith looked down, “Well I saw Pidge looking over the tapes and records of us fighting. Basically, I panicked and told her that he wanted to show everyone in order for her not to see. I thought that it would be better for everyone to see, the real thing, instead of one person seeing it through a recording.” Keith’s head stayed down, he was ashamed of his actions and didn't want to see Shiro's reaction. 

Shiro nodded, “Well, I think that it was the right choice. Lance will probably understand your point, just go talk to him.”

Keith shook his head, “No, I was going to give him some time to breathe and calm down. I was going to talk to him either after we were done with training, or after dinner. Depends how he acts. Hopefully, he will talk to me.”

“Alright, that’s good, you have a plan. Stick to it. Don't let him go to bed without talking to him. If you do, his bad emotions will probably fester. You don't want that, because then he will be unresponsive to you.”

Keith nodded, as he was about to say something, the rest of the paladins came in the training room. Shiro smiled, clapped his shoulder, and stood. “Good, I was thinking that I would have to hunt you all down and drag you in here. Now today we will be sharing our memories from our childhood. Everyone grab a headband and sit in a circle.”

Everyone dutifully grabbed one and sat. Keith was slightly nervous, knowing that he had had a rougher childhood than the others. He saw Shiro give him a smile out of the corner of his eye. He looked at Lance, but Lance was talking to Hunk ignoring him. He looked down and put on his headband. He closed his eyes and opened up certain memories, most from a young age. 

As he was sure that his other walls were up, he sent his mind to others minds. He saw many animals, dogs, cats, and even a goat. There seemed to be a hamster in a cage. He assumed that this was Lance’s memory. He knew that he had lots of siblings and it made sense that he would have pets as well. 

He went on and saw a young Matt. He knew that this was Pidge. Shiro hadn't known Matt until a year before Kerberos. They seemed to be talking about math or science. Keith couldn't tell. 

He moved on and saw food. The view changed and Keith saw an older woman. She smiled, her wrinkles showing slightly. Keith smiled inwardly, knowing that this was Hunk’s memory. 

He was happier form these memories, but also jealous. He hadn’t had the best childhood, having been in and out of the foster care system until 14. At 14 Keith had met Shiro and was taken out. Shiro had seen Keith’s promise and pushed him to apply to the Galaxy Garrison. He was glad that he applied. 

Keith checked his walls again and saw that they were down. He quickly scrambled to raise them again. He opened his eyes slightly and saw Lance looking at him in horror. Keith avoided his gaze and reached up. Grabbing the headband, he ripped it off, threw it down and walked out. Before he left he looked back. 

“I am done with this. I am never doing this again.” He snarled. 

Lance watched for a minute. He thought about going after him but figured that he should let Keith cool down. Pidge, however, was hasty about finding out what happened. 

“Why did he say that? What happened?”

Lance looked at her, “He had his walls down, for once. So I took the chance to know more about him. I saw some things that he wanted to hide. I guess that Shiro knows about them.”, Shiro looked up and nodded, “But not even a minute into it, I was shoved out of his mind. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He saw that and got angry.” Lance looked at the door, “I should go say sorry.” 

“No. Don't do that, Lance. I will talk to him later. If he is ready to talk to you then, I will let you know.”

Lance nodded. He knew that he was angry at Keith, but he wanted to fix that and this. He turned away from the door and faced the center of the circle, “So, what are we doing now? Are we going to finish this exercise or…?” Lance let his voice trail off. 

Shiro responded, “I think that it would be better to stop here. I will talk to Keith and you guys can do what you want, within reason.” Pidge rolled her eyes at the last statement but nodded with the rest of the group. 

They all stood up. Shiro went and followed Keith’s path and Hunk and Pidge started towards the kitchen. They stopped, however, when they noticed that Lance wasn’t following. 

“Hey, are you coming, Lance?”

Lance jumped slightly at Hunk’s voice but shook his head. He was watching Shiro out of the corner of his eye. “No, I think that I am going to stay here and train. Don't worry, I won't overwork myself. If Keith isn't ready by the time I am done, I will join you guys.”

“Alright, I will come back in an hour to get you.”

With that the pair left, stopping at the Green lion’s hanger, then going to the kitchen. 

Lance drew his bayard, changing it to his broadsword. He called out, “Training level 6!”

The robot dropped from the ceiling. Lance charged towards it and started to slash at its right arm. The robot blocked and swung its own sword towards Lance’s legs. Lance stepped back and switched to his pistol. He shot off three rounds to distract it. Then he switched to his broadsword again and cut at its legs. The robot was too slow to block the attack. It fell over and slashed at Lance’s torso. Lance dodged, but stayed and held his sword at the robot’s throat. He touched the sensor in its neck. At that, the robot powered down. 

He stepped away before calling out, “Training level 7!”

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Keith was in his room, door locked. He hadn't wanted anyone to know his history, still didn't. However, now lance knew about his upbringing. He didn't know how long his walls were down, but he was sure that it was long enough for Lance to get an idea of his life. 

He waited for a knock on his door, figuring that Lance would come after him soon. But after twenty minutes he heard nothing. Then he heard his door open up. He looked up, wondering who it was. He knew that Lance would have respected his boundaries and not come in. Then he saw Shiro, he sighed and turned over. He didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. He ignored Shiro as he sat down. 

“Hey is everything ok? I heard from Lance about what happened. I know that you didn’t want anyone to know about your childhood.”

Keith ignored him but turned onto his back. Shiro noticed but kept talking, this time about meaningless topics. 

Keith got up and snarled at him, “Get the fuck out of my room. I don’t want anyone here. I don't want to talk about the incident or anything else. So, fuck off.” Keith glared at Shiro until he got up. 

“Fine, if this is what you want. But I am going to send in Lance because he feels horrible and wants to apologize. Listen to him and tell him to go. Nicely.” With that Shiro left. 

Keith was fine with Lance because he could understand that he wouldn't want to talk. He turned on his side away from the door and clutched his pillow. He didn't want to face Lance, not at first. 

He heard the door open and close. Soft footsteps walked towards him. When they stopped, he felt a dip in the bed and a warm body against him. 

That's when Keith allowed himself to break open. He let out all the tears, from the fight with Lance and the fact that Lance knew about his childhood and reliving some memories. As he cried he felt Lance's hand rubbing circles on his back.

He turned and faced Lance. 

“I am sorry. I shouldn't have told Pidge that you wanted to do a demonstration. I just, I thought it would be better than her finding out through the recordings. She won't be curious now. Also about what you saw-”

Lance held a finger to Keith's lips. “It's ok. You don't have to explain that to me. I understand that you aren't ready yet. And I am sorry that I pried when I shouldn't have. It is my fault that this happened.”

Keith nodded, “Thank you. Can we cuddle for now?”

Lance laughed lightly but nodded. 

“Of course.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was reading Smiles4Voltron’s Suffocation and it reminded me of a scene. I kinda took the idea and ran with it. I don't think that I copied the original story. I added a lot more angst and not that much fluff. Go read the original scene, but read Let Me Catch My Breath as well. I loved it. Ok, enough from me, on with the one-shot.

Lance woke up to the beeping of his alarm clock. Keith and Lance had decided that since this day was full of work and shopping, they were not going to spar. Lance was fine with that but still woke up slightly early to have a small pampering session.

He walked into the connected half bathroom. He pushed his hair back with a headband. Then he grabbed his face mask and spread it out on his face. He let it sit while he sat on the toilet. He rubbed lotion up and down his legs and arms, making sure that there was no empty space. He rubbed the remaining lotion on his chest and washed his hands. He then proceeded to take off the mask. He sighed when he finished. 

He always felt a sense of peace when he finished. He smiled at his reflection, think back on old times, where he would sit with his twin, Rachael. They would help each other at the beginning, before talking. Later on, they would be able to do it all by themselves but kept the tradition. He smiled again at the memories of late night talks and gossip. Walking out of his room, he saw Pidge. 

“Hey, sorry, am I late?”

Pidge shook her head, “No, just wanted to talk. I feel like we never talk one on one.”

Lance laughed lightly, taking out his clothes, “Well, who’s at fault there? I have tried Pidge. Although I guess that we don't have that much in common, so there’s that. Anyway, I am rambling, what do you want to talk about.”

Pidge watched him go about the room, “Well, um, I guess that I wanted some help. And you are, well, the best one I can go to.”

Lance looked up quickly at that. “Wait I am better to go to? Over Shiro? How is that?”

Pidge blushed, “Well, um, I want to ask out someone and-”

“Wait, wait, wait, what?! You like someone?”

Pidge looked down, obviously embarrassed, “Well, yeah. Why do you think that he won't like me? Do I seem that nerdy?”

Lance looked alarmed, “Oh, no. I am so sorry that I gave that impression. I guess that I never expected you to have a crush or anything like that.”

“So, what should I do? I mean you have had a girlfriend, right?”

A look of hurt passed Lance’s face, but Pidge caught it, “Of course I have, what do you take me for Pidge?” Pidge giggled softly, “Anyway~. Do I know this person? Or did you meet them on a mission or diplomatic meeting? Are you hiding them from us?”

Lance’s voice grew louder as he grew more excited, “Oh, my Pidge is finally growing up! She has a crush!” He grabbed her into a hug, dropping his clothes. 

Pidge laughed, “No, no you don't know him and neither does anyone else. Well, Coran might know him, you never know with him. But do you have any advice for me?” Pidge looked up at him hopefully. 

Lance sat on the bed, “Of course I do. I have wooed many women, and a man, in my days.”

“That would be great, I- Wait, wait, wait, WHAT!? YOU DATED A MAN!?”

Lance looked up, “Yeah, why is that not okay with you?” He was slightly scared at her reaction. 

“Why would you- When were you? IT'S NOT NATURAL! Do you like both men and women?!”

“Yes, Pidge, I am bisexual. I feel attraction to both men and women.” Lance spat out quietly, not daring to look at her. 

“OH MY GOD, THIS IS WHY YOU SAID THAT! ARE YOU DATING SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?! WHO IS IT?!”

Lance finally looked up at her, “Not that it is your business, but yes, I am dating someone and yes he is male.” Lance stood up, glaring at her, “Now if you don't mind, I need to get ready to leave to go to the space mall. Would you please kindly get out?” 

Lance didn't wait for a response and pushed Pidge out of his room. He locked the door and sat on his bed. As he held his face in his hands, the events washed over him and he cried.

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Keith got up and did his regular morning regime. He brushed his teeth and quickly combed through his hair. Then walked out and grabbed his jacket, pulling it on. He walked out of his room and turned towards Lance’s room. As he walked down, he saw Pidge get pushed out Lance’s room. He heard the door click and lock. 

“Hey Pidge, what happened.”

Pidge looked furious and pounded on the door, “Ugh, the coward won't open up. Lance and I were talking about something, and well I found out that he is bisexual. Which he can't be!”

“Wait, what?” Keith interrupted Pidge. “Why can't Lance be bisexual? Is that not ok?”

Pidge turned on to Keith, “NO! Of course, it isn’t it isn't right and it is unnatural. There is obviously a reason why women can only have children with a man. Women should not be with women and men should not be with men. Think about it logically.”

Pidge turned on her heel, “Whatever, I can convince him later. I have time to change his mind.”

Keith watched her walk away, hands clenched in fists. He was angry but had to check on Lance. This was Lance’s worst nightmare, having his friends not accept him and who he is. He turned to the door and pushed in the code to unlock the door.

“Lance? Are you okay? I heard about what happened-” Keith saw Lance curled up on the bed, crying. “Oh, I am so sorry, I wish that we could change her mind, but Pidge is stubborn.” He turned around, relocked the door, and walked to Lance, sitting on the bed. Lance scooted over and patted the bed beside him. Keith laid down next to him.

“Are you going to be okay to go to the space mall? Or do you want to stay here?”

Lance hiccuped, “I want to go, in fact, I have to get some things.” Lance’s voice lowered to a whisper, “And I don't feel safe right now. I don't want to be alone.”

Keith’s heart broke at that. Lance was so hurt that he couldn't stand being alone, even in the castle. “What if you were with Blue? She does know that you are bi, right? Red knows about me and he is supportive of me.”

Lance nodded, “Yes, she, she knows and is supportive. I just, I need you right now. I need a human.”

“Alright, we will go, together. Don't let this get to you. Don't worry. I know you will and you will overthink about it. But maybe it is just Pidge, maybe the others are supportive. We will be able to change Pidge’s line of thoughts. I love you and some people’s opinions are not going to change that.”

Lance smiled at him, “Thank you, I needed that.”

Keith opened his mouth to respond to him but was cut off by an announcement. 

“Paladins, get ready in your clothes. We have arrived at a space mall and will travel in two separate pods. Come to the bridge in two minutes.”

Keith stood up and held out his hand, “Are you sure that you are going to be ok?”

Lance gave him a weak smile and grabbed his hand, “I don't know, but I don't want to show how much this affected me. Besides we don't have to be in the same pod as Pidge. This will be good, it’ll be a distraction.”

Keith nodded, “Alright, if you say so.” he pulled Lance up to him, “But you will let me know as soon as you want to leave and we will leave. No matter what.” he gave Lance a kiss on his cheek. 

Lance smiled at him, “I’ll be ok, as long as you are with. Because I die without you, Keith.” Lance cried out falling back on his bed, peeking at Keith to see his reaction.

Keith laughed, “Alright, now come on, we don't Allura to be mad at us.”

The two got Lance ready and looking as normal as possible. A minute later, you couldn't tell that he had been crying or even sad. Lance had a fake smile on his face and had cleaned up his face. Keith took one look at him, knowing he wasn’t alright or even close and pulled him into a hug. 

“I love you, don't forget that.”

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The pair walked into the bridge. Everyone was already there and noticed them. Allura huffed and crossed her arms, “good, you are finally here. What took so long?” Lance opened his mouth but Allura held up her hand, “It doesn't matter, we are behind the schedule. We need to leave now. Pidge, Hunk, Coran, and Lance will be in the bigger pod. Shiro, Keith and I will be in the smaller pod. Now let’s go.”

Lance looked over at Pidge and noticed her glaring at him. He looked at Keith with a panicked look on his face. 

“Can we change the seating chart, Allura?” Lance’s voice was small, scared of her response.

“No, we don't have time for that. Besides what’s wrong with it? You are with your friends, away from Keith, I see no problem. Now if that is all, we have to go now.”

With that Lance was stuck in a pod with Pidge. He shook, not ready for the confrontation, especially without Keith. Maybe he would get lucky and Pidge wouldn't say anything. 

They walked down to the hanger, Lance’s group walking silently in. Allura and Shiro were chatting quietly about the things that needed to be bought. Keith was trailing behind, watching Lance out of the corner of his eye. 

Keith sat down in a passenger seat, not wanting to argue about who was driving the ship. Shiro noticed and gave him a weird look before shrugging it off. Keith looked out of the window, propping up his head. He was wondering how Lance was doing, knowing that it must be a nightmare. 

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Lance walked in, hesitating before the door. He walked in a took the seat in the back, tucked into a corner. Hunk was driving and Coran and Pidge were sitting in front of him. Lance started to fiddle with the sleeves of his jacket, trying to take his mind off of what happened. He was scared that Pidge would start a scene and start to fight or argue with him. Lance knew that he could take it and that he would burst into tears right away. 

Every time Pidge shifted in her seat on the ride, Lance would tense and retreat into his jacket. Coran tried to start a conversation once or twice but to no avail. Hunk would talk but Lance and Pidge would not respond to anything. Lance knew that Coran figured out that something was wrong, especially when Lance wouldn't talk about girls. At the mention of relationships, Pidge tensed up and started to glare at Coran. It effectively shut Coran up. The rest of the ride was quiet. 

Hunk set the pod down five minutes later and as soon as it was safe to leave Lance bolted out. He had a list of what he absolutely had to get and his money. He ran towards the directory where Keith was and tapped him.

“Let’s go. Now.”

Keith nodded and ran off, Lance following him. They stopped halfway on the other side of the mall. Keith directed him to a large store that seemed to sell everything, kind of like a Costco. Lance’s lips raised at the thought. 

“Thank you, I needed to get out of there. Now, let’s go to space Costco.” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and ran into the store. 

Keith chuckled, “So what do you have to get? I have the food.”

“Oh, um,” Lance checked his list, “It looks like I have the toiletries and the blankets, that crap.”

“Ok, let’s do your list first, it seems the easiest, then we can do mine, lastly we can buy what we want.” Lance nodded and pulled him over to the bathroom section.

They walked around, holding hands, putting the items into a floating shopping cart. They talked about meaningless things, in order to keep their mind off of Pidge. They were stopped every once in a while by someone who recognized the paladins. They were always sworn to secrecy about the paladins’ relationship. It may have been something to not worry about seeing as half the aliens were confused about two males together, but they still did it.

When they finished shopping for the necessary items, they walked through the mall, not holding hands this time. Keith saw a place that he wanted to go and Lance had to go to the bathroom. Keith came up with an idea.

“Why don't you go to the bathroom and then get us some food? I want to duck into a store that wouldn't interest you.”

Lance agreed and the pair split off. Keith watched him walk away and once he was sure that Lance wasn’t in eyesight, he turned around. “Now where was that shop? I know that I saw it somewhere.” Keith walked around before seeing the store. He quickly walked in, bought a small trinket and a larger present, both for Lance. He asked the alien in charge to deliver it to his pod. The pods were out of the view of each other, the presents would remain a remain secret until Keith gave them to Lance. 

He left the store and went to the food court. He saw Lance in line and waved to him. Once he acknowledged him, he went to find a table for the two. Lance walked over with the food. 

“So, what did you do? It took you awhile to get back.” Lance looked at him expectantly.

Keith had his excuse all planned out, when he saw Pidge and Hunk, “Lance,” he said in a low voice, “We need to leave, Pidge and Hunk are here.”

Lance squeaked, twisting in his chair. When he saw Pidge and Hunk, he grew paler, “Yeah, let’s take this food and walk. If they call us and we are sorta out of the hearing range, keep walking. We can't hide it if we are less than ten feet away from them.”

Lance stood up and walked toward the only exit. Pidge and Hunk were close to the exit, looking at the different stores. Hunk noticed the pair and waved at them. Lance was pretending to talk to Keith, hoping that Hunk would just let it go. Of course, that was not the case. Hunk nudged Pidge then walked over to them

“Hey, Lance! I was looking for you, you ran out really quickly. Is everything ok?”

Lance nodded, “Yeah, um, I just needed to get in an open space, don't worry. I am ok now.”

“Well, that’s good. Do you guys want to eat with us?” Hunk asked, pointing to their food. 

Lance looked at Keith kinda panicked, “Uh sure. We weren't going anywhere, right, Keith?”

Keith thought, “I can’t think of anything. But did you want to buy anything?”

“Oh, yeah I did want to get something. Why don't we go get it?”

“That’s ok,” Hunk said, “We have at least three more hours, we can eat for an hour and then we can shop together.”

“That’s ok,” Keith replied, “We don't need to bother you guys or intrude.”

Pidge walked over, “Of course, I get it. But,” She put her hand on Lance’s arm, “we won't be bothered. We like you guys, we’re all friends.”

She smiled and then tugged Lance to a table, Hunk followed them. Keith looked around, trying to find another reason to not go. He sighed when he couldn't find one.

When they sat down, Pidge and Hunk went to get their own food and left Lance and Keith alone. Keith passed Lance his carton and a fork, “I’m sorry, Lance. I wish that I could have found an excuse, but there is nothing. Don't worry, Pidge won't make a scene. You know why?”

Lance shook his head looking down, Keith leaned over and tilted his head up. He smiled at him, “Because, imagine what Allura would do to her. She would not be happy, and you know it. She would fly into a fury, and yell at her. Pidge would hate that. It isn't something that Pidge would chance.”

Lance smiled, “Yeah, that's right. I wouldn't do that and, I mean, look at me!”

Hunk walked up, “So, what lists did you guys have? Pidge and I had the mechanical parts and a few odds and ends.”

“Well, I had the bathroom and toiletries and that crap. Keith had the food or at least part of it. Have you finished getting those?”

Hunk shook his head, “No, Pidge and I figured out the price for what we needed. So we have been walking around the mall and when we see something that we need we get it, when we something that we want and can get, we get it. Honestly, Pidge takes the longest.”

“What are you guys saying about me?”

Pidge sat down with her food, “By the way, Hunk, do you want to know something that I found out recently?” She smiled deviously at Lance, “Lance-”

“ALRIGHT, uh, this has been nice and all, but I need to go to the bathroom. See you!”

Lance bolted out of the room. Keith saw that he left his list. Holding it up, he said, “Lance forgot his list, I am going to go return it to him.” With that, Keith ran after Lance, clutching the list in his fist. Hunk looked after them, “Should we go after them?”

Pidge shook her head, “No, one, I don't want to run, besides I am much slower than them and two, I want to eat.”

Hunk nodded, “Alright, what did you want to tell me, Pidge?”

She sighed, “I want to see Lance’s expression at the time, so let’s wait. Now, what did you think about the Olkari’s essay on…”

The two talked about science and the Castle’s machinery while they shopped.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

“Hey Lance, are you in here?”

Keith got no response. He walked out of the bathroom and growled. Where was he? Lance had run off and so far Keith had no idea where he was. He had checked every bathroom and shop in between them. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was time to leave. He assumed that Lance went to his pod. 

Keith trudged back, keeping an open eye for Lance. When he came up to the pod, he looked around one more time before entering his pod. As he went to sit down, he saw Lance curled up in a seat.

“This is where you went! I have been looking for you. Are you okay?”

Lance tucked his head into his knees, “Yes. I am not up for any questions, so can you give me some space for now?”

Keith nodded and sat down next to him. “Of course.” 

A few seconds later, Allura and Shiro walked in. 

“Keith, have you seen Lance? Hunk and Pidge haven't seen him for a while.”

“Oh, yeah, Lance is right next to me.”

Allura nodded, “Well, he has to go to his pod. Do you need help finding it, Lance?”

Lance looked up, “No. I am not going. I can't.”

Allura looked confused, “Why not? Is something wrong? Are you sick? Do you need any help? Have Hunk or Pidge done anything to you?”

With each question, Lance pushed himself into the wall and seemed to shrink into himself. Keith took one look at him and spoke up.

“I can go, Allura, Lance can stay here. It's no problem.”

Allura pouted, “Alright, fine you can go. But we are having a talk as soon as we are back. Is that understood?”

At Keith’s nod, Allura sat down, Shiro following her. Keith exited the pod, giving Lance’s hand a squeeze. He exited the door and went down the ramp. He walked over to the other pod. He looked at it and knocked on the side. The ramp was up in the belly of the ship, and slowly lower once Keith knocked. 

“Hey, Lan- uh, where is Lance, Keith?”

“Oh, well, he wasn’t feeling well so he is with Allura and Shiro. Don't worry about him. I was sent here since there was no more room.” 

With that, Keith walked up the ramp and into the pod. Looking around he saw only the pilot’s chair and the farthest chair open. 

“So, who’s driving?”

Hunk shrugged, “Pidge doesn't want to and I don't care. You can, Coran is only used to flying Altean ships.”

Keith nodded and took the pilot’s chair. “Alright, is everyone seated and buckled up?”

Once there was a noise of confirmation from everyone, Keith started the ship and slowly eased upwards. He pushed a couple of buttons and the ship started moving. He pushed the controls forward and the ship shot off. He kept it at a steady pace until they neared the Castle. At that point, Keith tapered off on the speed. 

When he landed, he turned off the engine, “Alright, we are here.” 

He lowered the ramp and exited. He went over to the other pod, for two different reasons. While piloting the pod, he remembered the gifts, which were supposed to be a secret. He also wanted to check on Lance. 

However, when he turned around, he saw Pidge and Hunk following him. He cursed under his breath, knowing that Lance would just be recuperating or he would be interviewed by Allura. 

“Hey, is my stuff in here? Or did I send it to the other pod?”

When he went inside he was greeted to emptiness. He cocked his head, how much sooner had they arrived? He went to the storage section of the ship and found his purchases. He grabbed them and left the pod. As he turned around he bumped into Pidge and Hunk.

“Lance isn't in here, so don't bother. I am going to my room after I put the food away.”

Keith walked out of the room and towards the kitchen. He carried the groceries as well as the other two gifts. He set down the bags and started to place the groceries in the cupboards and the fridge. Once he was done he walked towards Lance’s room. 

He knocked on the door and waited. He heard shuffling before the hiss of the door. Lance poked his head out, relaxing when he saw Keith. 

“Come in here. Pidge and Hunk have been trying to find me. I love Hunk, but I do not want to see Pidge. What are you holding?” Lance looked curiously at the bags.

Keith looked down, “Oh, um, well they are for you. I know that it has been difficult for you lately, with Pidge and everything. So I wanted to get you something to cheer you up. Uh, here.”

Keith shoved the gifts towards him, looking down, embarrassed. Lance smiled and kissed him on the cheek. 

“Thanks, babe, you didn't have to do this, but I appreciate the gesture.”

Lance walked towards his bed and sat down with the gifts. He opened the smaller one first. Lance gasped when he saw the plush. He looked up and threw himself onto Keith. He peppered his face with kisses. 

“I love it, thank you.”

He squealed holding up the dog up. It was brown with white spots all over it. Keith had seen the dog in Lance’s memories. Keith smiled and sat with him on the bed.

“So, what is this dog’s name? I saw it in your memory from the last bonding experience.”

Lance winced at the mention of the experience, “Well, this one is Harry. He was named by my sister, Veronica when she was into One Direction. I tried to change the name, but as usual, was pushed away.” Lance laughed lightly at the fight, “We got into a big fight about it. But she won in the end, but only because of my other sister, who sided with her.”

Keith laughed, “I can believe that. What was your idea for the name?”

Lance thought, “I think it was Neil. I was really into space at the time as well as Neil Armstrong. I wanted to be like him, traveling into uncharted territory, unknown danger ahead.” Lance chuckled, “Looks like that dream became true, sort of. I guess that this is charted but eh. Close enough.” He shrugged.

Keith nodded, “Alright, now open the other present, I think that you like this one a lot. Or at I hope so.”

Lance nodded and turned to the large gift. As he opened it, he spoke to Keith, “Y’know, you didn't have to get me anything. I would have been-” 

Lance’s voice broke off when he saw it. He excitedly ripped off the rest of the packaging. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. No fucking way. How- I- Thank you. Shit, now I feel bad. I didn't get you anything. How did you know?”

Lance held up a guitar, light blue. “How did you even know what type of guitar that I play. Holy shit.” Lance laughed loudly. “Geez, you are making me seem like a terrible boyfriend.”

Keith laughed, “Well, I saw you playing guitar in another of one of your memories. This was a long time ago, but I never went to the space mall after it. When you went to go get the guitar.”

Lance laughed, in awe. “Oh my god, thank you.”

Lance threw himself onto Keith again. He kissed him slowly. He leaned away, “Really, thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. I played guitar and it has a lot of memories that mean a lot. I don't want to go into details, but know that playing the guitar is important to me and who I am.”

Keith smiled, “I know that it was important."

Keith leaned up to capture Lance's mouth again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys like this? Sorry, I was having a hard time with this chapter. I had no motivation and don't like the plot at first. So I fixed it and I like it now. 
> 
> I think that you guys have noticed but, I abandoned the schedule. I simply don't have time to write a chapter a week. I try to write around 4000 words and I wasakimf myself do that in two days. At this point in the year, with homework and swim, I have no time to myself. I will try to get chapters out as fast as possible. But it'll only be when I am satisfied with the chapter and if I have enough time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say at the beginning of this that the things said are not my point of view on LGBT. I, myself, am trying to figure out my sexuality. This was a rough chapter to write because of the way I want this to go. I didn't want to offend anyone, which is why I am putting this disclaimer. Everyone is a homophobe, except for Shiro and Coran., they try. If you want to know the gist of the story, go to the endnotes. 
> 
> By the way, since this isn't addressed, Shiro is gay, but after the team's reaction, he decides not to come out to them.

Lance sat in the lounge, strumming the guitar slowly. He was playing a song that his mother used to sing to him. His brother was the one who taught him how to play it. He smiled, thinking about the fun times. He had often tripped over the strings, but laughed anyway, trying his hardest. His brother was often exasperated but he was willing to work with Lance.

 

Lance continued the song at a slower pace. He looked up when the doors slid open, but continued playing. Hunk walked in and froze when he saw Lance with the guitar. Hunk felt tears slip past his eyes when he heard the song.

 

He didn't interrupt the song, instead just sat on the side, listening to the song. He recognized the tune as one that Lance’s mother sang. He sat through the whole thing. When the song ended, Hunk wiped away tears.

 

“Where did you get the guitar from?”

 

“Oh, I got it on the space mall. Keith had taken it and gave it to me later.”

 

Hunk nodded, “Can you play another song?” His voice was soft.

 

Lance nodded and smiled, “Sure, any requests? I can play a multitude of songs.”

 

Hunk grinned, “Surprise me.”

 

Lance laughed and then nodded, “Alrighty then.”

 

Lance strummed a couple of chords before starting the song. He started out somber and slow. After a couple of seconds, he started to sing. Hunk immediately recognized the song. It was “Let Her Go”. Hunk could understand why Lance would choose the song.

 

Hunk started to join in on the song. It was a sad song but had a more upbeat tune. They continued to sing until the song ended. Once they finished, they noticed that Pidge was in the room.

 

“That was pretty good guys. Where did you learn to play guitar, Lance?”

 

“I learned from my brother, Marco. It took awhile, but I find that it was worth it. Now if you will excuse me, Keith wants me to train with him in ten minutes.”

 

Lance walked out of the room, Pidge watched him.

 

“Does Lance seem to be avoiding me?” She asked, plopping herself down on the couch. “He always seems to leave whenever I enter. But I don't know what I did to make him avoid me. Can you think of anything?”  


Hunk shook his head, “No, but it started at the space mall. Especially at lunch, remember? He left and then he didn't come back to our pod. Maybe it has something with that girl.”

 

Pidge looked up guilty, “We need to talk, with Shiro, Coran, and Allura. I have some information to share, it probably explains Lance’s behavior as well.”

 

Hunk nodded, “Alright then. I think I can get everyone here in ten minutes.”

 

Pidge shook her head, “No, let’s do it in the kitchen. It's less of a chance for Lance and Keith to hear.”

 

“Ok. I will go get them now.”

 

Hunk left the room. Pidge slouched down on the couch, rubbing her eyes. She was tired from staying up all night. She sighed, stretched and got up. She went to her room to grab her computer and then walked to the kitchen.

 

When she walked in, she saw Shiro and Allura sitting, eating food goo and talking.

 

“Hey guys, are Coran and Hunk on their way over?”

 

Allura nodded and swallowed her bite, “Yes, I believe that Hunk had to go down to the engine room. It is probably just taking a minute to get Coran away from his work..” Allura laughed lightly as the doors opened. “Oh, here is Hunk and Coran now.”

 

“Great, ok,” Pidge stood up, “I told Hunk to get everyone because I found out some news about Lance. He is gay. Or at least I think so, he may be bisexual. I don't know exactly. But I think that he is dating a man right now.”

 

Allura gasped, “Is this something that people do on your planet? Date people of their own sex?” Her expression was horrified.

 

Coran looked slightly nauseous. “Are you sure, Pidge? Is there a chance that you are wrong?”

 

Pidge shook her head, “No, I had a conversation with him a couple of days. I had a microphone on me; he didn't notice it. But from the conversation, I would say that he is most likely dating a man.”

 

She clicked a couple of buttons on his computer and then a noise filled the air. There was a bit of static before the sound cleared up.

 

_“Hey, sorry, am I late?”_

 

Lance’s voice was the first one to be heard.

 

_“No, just wanted to talk. I feel like we never talk one on one.”_

 

_“Well, who’s at fault there? I have tried Pidge. Although I guess that we don't have that much in common, so there’s that. Anyway, I am rambling, what do you want to talk about.”_

 

_“Well, um, I guess that I wanted some help. And you are, well, the best one I can go to.”_

 

Hunk looked up, “What was the excuse?”

 

Pidge blushed, “You’ll see.”

 

_“Wait I am better to go to? Over Shiro? How is that?”_

 

_“Well, um, I want to ask out someone and-”_

 

_“Wait, wait, wait, what?! You like someone?”_

 

There was a burst of exclamations around the table.

 

“Wait, do you really!”

 

“Pidge! This is great!”

 

“I need to meet this man, can't have just anyone.”

 

Pidge blushed and looked down, “Yeah, well. Maybe some other time. We are just taking it slow for now.” She coughed into her fist, “Anyway…”

 

_“Well, yeah. Why do you think that he won't like me? Do I seem that nerdy?”_

 

_“Oh, no. I am so sorry that I gave that impression. I guess that I never expected you to have a crush or anything like that.”_

 

_“So, what should I do? I mean you have had a girlfriend, right?”_

 

“When I said this, Lance had a hurt look. He did hide it incredibly well afterward but I caught it.”

 

_“Of course I have, what do you take me for Pidge? Anyway~. Do I know this person? Or did you meet them on a mission or diplomatic meeting? Are you hiding them from us?”_

 

_“Oh, my Pidge is finally growing up! She has a crush!”_

 

Everyone laughed at Lance’s excited voice.

 

_“No, no you don't know him and neither does anyone else. Well, Coran might know him, you never know with him. But do you have any advice for me?”_

 

_“Of course I do. I have wooed many women, and_   _men_ , _in my days.”_

 

“This is how I know for a fact. Um, I just want to say that I didn't react in the best way. It went really downhill from here.”

 

_“That would be great, I- Wait, wait, wait, WHAT!?_ _YOU'VE_ _DATED A MAN!?”_

 

_“Yeah, why is that not okay with you?”_

 

_“Why would you- When were you? IT'S NOT NATURAL! Do you like both men and women?!”_

 

_“Yes, Pidge, I am bisexual. I feel attraction to both men and women.”_

 

_“OH MY GOD, THIS IS WHY YOU SAID THAT! ARE YOU DATING SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?! WHO IS IT?!”_

 

_“Not that it is your business, but yes, I am dating someone and yes he is male. Now if you don't mind, I need to get ready to leave to go to the space mall. Would you please kindly get out?”_

 

“Lance pushed me out of his room here. But afterward, Keith came up to me. I just included it, just in case you wanted to hear it.”

 

_“Hey Pidge, what happened.”_

 

_There was a pounding noise, “Ugh, the coward won't open up. Lance and I were talking about something, and well I found out that he is bisexual. Which he can't be!”_

 

_“Wait, what?” Keith interrupted Pidge. “Why can't Lance be bisexual? Is that not ok?”_

 

_The pounding stopped, “NO! Of course, it isn’t it isn't right and it is unnatural. There is obviously a reason why women can only have children with a man. Women should not be with women and men should not be with men. Think about it logically.”_

 

_“Whatever, I can convince him later. I have time to change his mind.”_

 

_There were a few clicking noises before the audio stopped._

 

“So, um, there we go. Lance is bisexual. He is dating a man right now and Keith knows.”

 

Shiro stood up, “I know this is shocking to all of us. I was not expecting Keith to be ok with it or for Lance to be bisexual. But is there any way we can accept him?”

 

Pidge shook her head, adamant, “No, I have a lot of reasons why it can't work and why it is unnatural. The biggest is that there is a reason why men can reproduce with other men. Same with women. There is a reason as to why it is only men and women together who can have children.”

 

Hunk nodded, “and not to be this person, but it is also against my religion, I can't support it.”

 

Allura and Coran were speechless, “I will be honest, we have never heard of anything like this.” Coran said. “I would like to think that we would have accepted this, except it seems like it is not a normal occurrence?”

 

Shiro sighed, “Well, there is a large community who date people of their own sex or are attracted to both sexes, like Lance. There is more to the community but I cannot give a proper explanation in a few minutes. Basically, this is more normal than you would think, but there are many people who believe it is wrong. I am somewhere in the middle. There has to be a line drawn, but it is ok.”

 

Coran nodded, “So then we should accept Lance for who he is correct?”

 

Pidge glared at Shiro, “No, we should not. This is a phrase he is going through that is all. I am sorry that Shiro put those thoughts in your head.”

 

Shiro stood up, “I am not going to be a part of this anymore. You can do what you want. Do not break up Lance and his boyfriend. I don't want to see your friendships go down the drain, just because of this. But from here on out, I will no longer be a part of these plans.”

 

With that Shiro turned his back and walked out of the kitchen.

 

Coran looked after him. Pidge huffed, “You can go if you want to Coran. I am not going to force anyone to stay here.”

 

Coran nodded and hightailed it out of the room.

 

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

 

Lance was holed up in his room, staring at a picture on his phone. Pidge had found a way for him to switch all of the old phone’s information onto a space phone. It worked well except for the fact that the people he wanted to call the most, weren't available.

 

“Dios míos. What did I get myself into, Mama? Lo siento, yo no debería haberme ido.

Quiero volver a casa a ti, Marco, Veronica, Rachel, Luis y Papa. ¿Ya han crecido los gemelos? La última vez que los vi, solo tenían un año. Serán cuatro ahora. Lo siento mucho por irme.”

 

Lance started crying into his pillow, trying to keep his voice down. He quieted after a couple of minutes and sat up. Lance felt slightly better after letting it out. Unfortunately, Lance knew that he wasn't ok and that he was going to break down soon.

 

Lance got up and went to the bathroom. He washed his face to hide the tear-stains. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked terrible, his hair was a mess and his eyes were puffy and red. He sighed and combed through his hair, trying to flatten it. After a couple of attempts, he gave up and walked out of the bathroom. Just as he was about to pull on his coat, Allura’s voice came over the intercom system.

 

“I am calling a meeting. I want everyone in the lounge in five minutes.”

 

Lance sighed and pulled on his jacket. He quickly combed through his hair again. He walked out of the room, hunched over, trying to hide his face. He walked into the lounge and took a seat.

 

No one else was in the room. He relaxed for a moment and took a couple of seconds to clean his face. But when he heard the hiss of the door open, he tensed and hid his face.

 

“Hey, Lance!” A cheerful voice called out, “Do you know what this is about?”

 

Lance shook his head, “N-no” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, “No, all I know is that Allura wants to talk to us. I wonder what about. Sorry, Hunk”

 

“Eh, that’s ok. We’ll find out soon.”

 

Lance nodded, “Yeah, of course.”

 

There was a tense silence, broken by the door hissing again.

 

“Hunk, Lance.”

 

Shiro walked in, with Pidge following him. Shiro sat opposite them and Pidge sat next to Hunk. Pidge carried her computer and was taping away furiously.

 

Hunk leaned over to look at her screen, “Are you making another signal? I am sorry, Pidge, but you need a break.”

 

“ _What!_ No, I don't. I am fine.”

 

“No, you aren't. Here, here and here have mistakes. I am sure that if you scroll up, there will be more.”

 

“So, I will fix those and it’ll be fine. Don't worry about me.

 

“I’m sorry, Pidge, but I agree with Hunk,” Shiro spoke up.

 

“But-”

 

“No. You are overworking yourself. It won't help if you hurt yourself in the process. I am sure that Hunk can help you while you sleep. But for the next two days, you can only work if either Allura or I allow you to. Is that understood?”

 

“Yes, Shiro,” Pidge said sullenly.

 

The door opened again and Allura walked in with Keith. Coran was behind them.

 

“Good, you are all here. Now, we need to have a talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tl;dr The team figures that Lance has a boyfriend, but they assumed that he is on a random planet. Allura and Pidge are the leaders of this. Allura then calls the team to met.
> 
> Spanish Translation:
> 
> Dios míos = My god  
> Lo siento, yo no debería haberme ido = I’m sorry, I should not have left.  
> Quiero volver a casa a ti, Marco, Veronica, Rachel, Luis y Papa = I want to go home to you, Marco, Veronica, Rachel, Luis and Papa  
> ¿Ya han crecido los gemelos? = Have the twins grown yet?  
> La última vez que los vi, solo tenían un año = Last I saw them, they were only a year old.  
> Serán cuatro ahora = They will be four now.  
> Lo siento mucho, tuve que irme = I’m so sorry, I had to leave
> 
> Kind of a cliffhanger. I was losing motivation for this chapter. So… Here you go.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that cliffhanger. 
> 
> Actually, I’m not sorry.

“Good, you are all here. Now, we need to have a little talk.”

 

Lance looked up at her, eyes wide. He knew what was going to happen and had a semblance of a plan. However, he knew that something would go wrong. Keith sat next to Lance. Coran sat next to Shiro. 

 

“I think that we know what this is about.”

 

Keith raised his hand, “Actually, I am confused. What are we talking about?”

 

Lance looked at him, “Keith. We are talking about how they have a problem with my sexuality.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Lance shook his head before turning to Allura, “So, what are you going to tell me to do?” He crossed his arms.

 

“We want you to break up with your boyfriend. Then you will realize that being bisexual isn't a real thing.”

 

Lance paled, he knew that they would want something extreme, but he didn't think that they would go this far. “I’m sorry? What did you say?”

 

“You heard me. We need you to break up with your boyfriend. Only then will you come to your senses.”

 

“Allura, if I may, I am going to speak to Lance. Outside. Privately.” Keith grabbed Lance’s sleeve and dragged him outside.

 

“Please, tell me that you aren't going to break up with me. I don't know if I could handle it.”

 

“No, babe, I won't. I'll pretend that I did. I'll wait a day and then tell them that I did it.”

 

“What if they want to watch you do it?”

 

“You can record something in a voice disguiser. Change your name to some alien name and then when we are all there connect to your phone and play the recordings. How does that sound.”

 

Keith blew out, “Like a lot of work, but much better than us breaking up.”

 

“Yep,“ Lance said, popping the ‘p’, “I won't break up with you, Keith. At least not for something dumb like this. We would have to be in a really big fight for that to happen.”

 

“Okay, “Keith breathed out, “That sounds fair.”

 

Lance grinned at him, “Let’s go back in. But go in mad, alright? Like you just lost the argument.”

 

“Got it.”

 

Keith walked in the door and plopped down, huffing. Lance walked with his head down and sat down. Lance looked at Allura.

 

“Alright. I'll do it.” He grimaced and looked at the floor. He could feel Keith’s gaze on him. “I'll - I’ll break up with my boyfriend.”

 

“Good, I'll allow you two to stay together for another day and then you must part. I want to hear a transcript. You won't get out of this.”

 

With that, Allura turned on her heel and walked out of the room. Pidge and Hunk started to follow her when Shiro called them back.

 

“Hang on. There was another reason why we were called here. We have a new mission to complete. We received a distress call from the planet Arda. The Argurtrok sent the call complaining about ‘a mechanical beast’. We assume that it is one of Haggar’s new creations. We need to go in and quickly destroy it. Allura also wants to add them to the Coalition. So after we defeat the bast, we will have to go through multiple meetings.”

 

“Indeed,” Coran’s voice cut in, “The Argutroks value personal freedom over everything else. This means that they feel slightly threatened over flirting. Since, Lance, you will be coming out of a relationship, you cannot flirt. It would have disastrous effects.”

 

“Yes, Coran is correct. Do not corner these people or force them to do anything. For example, Hunk, you can't give them hugs, only handshakes. Pidge, you can't ask them about technology, no matter how much you want to.”

 

“Wait a minute, how does asking about technology threaten them?”

 

“They will believe that you are trying to take their secrets and take their jobs.”

 

Pidge huffed and crossed her arms, “Fine, I won't ask them about their tech. I’m gonna go to the hanger and work on some stuff.”

 

“No, you don't, young lady. Don't think I forgot about that. You can't work on any code or anything like that. Hunk, you watch over her.”

 

“Got it. C’mon, Pidge, I need to make dinner and I was going to make some cookies.”

 

“Ohh~”

 

The two walked out, the door closed behind them. Lance looked after them, before standing up. “I’m going to go. I want to talk to my partner a little bit.”

 

Lance walked out the door quickly. Keith watched him sadly, “I should go check on him.”

 

Keith followed Lance, leaving Shiro and Coran alone in the lounge.

 

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“Lance? Are you ok?”

 

“Oh, good, you got my message.” Lance’s voice was flat, betraying no emotion.

 

“Are you ok, Lance? You don't have to pretend you are.”

 

Lance flopped down on the bed. “Yeah, of course. I’m fine. I’m just  _ peachy! _ The team doesn't accept me for who I am. So, yeah, Keith. I’m perfect.” Lance yelled the last part

 

Keith looked at him sadly and climbed onto the bed next to him. He gathered Lance in his arms and started to whisper to him. Lance sobbed into Keith's shoulder. He caressed his head, in order to soothe Lance. 

 

"It's going to work out in the end. You’ll see, Lance. Just let everything out. Don't worry about it this moment. We can figure something out when you feel better. You are my top priority.”

 

They sat there for about an hour, Keith was waiting for Lance to calm down so that he could help him. As Lance’s breath evened out, Keith leaned back so that he could see his face. Lance’s face was splotchy and his eyes were red and puffy. His face had dried tearstains that tracked down to his neck. Keith’s shirt was wet from those tears. 

 

“Do you feel better now?” Keith asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle and quiet.

 

Lance nodded, “Yeah, but that doesn't make this situation any less  _ shitty _ .” Lance spat out the last word.

 

Keith’s face fell at that, “I know. I feel the same way. I know that I have it better because Shiro doesn't hate me. Or at least not now. I wish that I could be in your place to take the pain away from you. I’m used to this. I just  _ hate _ that you have to go through this.”

 

Lance smiled at that, “I know you do. But instead of going through different scenarios, let’s fix this one.”

 

Keith smiled at him, “Yeah, c’ mon sharpshooter. Let’s fix this problem.” He grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him to the lions.

 

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Lance sat on the floor of the Blue Lion. Keith was across from him, fiddling with a voice recorder. He stuck his tongue out trying to figure out how it worked. After a couple more seconds, Lance spoke up. 

 

“Need help there, Mr. I-Can-Do-This?”

 

Keith growled at him, not looking up. “I got this, Lance.”

 

Lance laughed, “Sure you do, buddy. I’ll set up the program on Blue so we can distort your voice. Oh, wait. We can use the voice recorder program in here.”

 

Keith looked up, his jaw dropping. “You mean to tell me,” Keith’s voice was low, “That, I have been trying to figure out how to use  _ this, _ ” He pointed at the offending device, “For the past twenty minutes? When we have a program on Blue that we can use?” He glared at Lance. “Fuck you, Lance.”

 

“Please do, I would enjoy that,” Lance smirked at Keith’s red face and spluttering. “Now, let’s record. What do you say.”

 

Keith pouted from his place on the floor, “Fine, but only because I love you.” He stood up and walked over. He kissed Lance’s temple, smiling. “Now, how do we do this?”

 

“Well, we-” Lance was cut off by Allura speaking.

 

‘ _ Paladins, we have arrived at Arda. Get your armor on and get in your lions. As soon as we get outside the atmosphere, you will exit the Castle and fight the beast. _ ’

 

Lance sighed, “We can finish this after the mission. I guess we should go suit up, huh?” He stood up, slapping Keith’s ass, earning him a yelp. “Go on, samurai. I have a suit in here.”

 

Keith nodded and walked out, “Don't die out there, got it?” He received a grunt in return.

 

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After the battle, Lance walked out of Blue. It had been a hard fight and Lance was tired and ready for a shower. At some point during the fight, the paladins were forced to leave their lions. The beast had been carrying warriors that were ready to attack the  Argurtroks.

 

Lance had been heading towards the showers when he was cut off by Keith. Keith looked just as tired and sweaty as Lance.

 

“Lance, we should record the message now. This is the best time. While the others are showering and recuperating, we should do this and then shower. That way afterward you can “call” your boyfriend.”

 

Lance groaned, “I know that is a good plan, but I don't want to.  _ Fine _ . Let’s go to Blue.” He grabbed Keith’s hand and they walked to Blue. Lance plopped down in the pilot chair, leaving Keith to stand. He pulled up the two programs; the voice distorter and the voice recorder.

 

“Alright, so, uh, what am I saying?” Keith asked, unsure of what to do. Lance kept going through the voice distorter, looking for the right setting. “You can just follow me. Do some crying, I guess. I don't know. Just act as if I was breaking up with you.”

 

Keith looked unsure, but nodded, “I can do that, I guess?” His voice was doubtful.

 

“Ah-ha found it! You are going to sound like ‘A Southern Robot’.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“Who knows?” Lance shrugged, “But it sounds like it fits you.” He added, grinning up at Keith.

 

Keith huffed and shook his head affectionately. “Let’s get this over quickly. I need a shower.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. So do I. Now come over here. That way your voice can be picked up. I’m going to call you, um, oh I know! Subeer!” Lance beamed at Keith. He pouted when Keith started laughing, “What?! What’s wrong with that?”

 

“I just- How did you think of that name?”

 

Lance crossed his arms, “I was just thinking of aliens that I’ve met. I can come up with a different one if you want.”

 

“No, no, it's fine, babe. Although I may laugh during this.”

 

Lance glared at Keith before turning back to the screen, “Ok, whatever, Subeer. I’m starting so you have to shut up.”

 

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_ Beep. Beep. _

 

_ “Hi, Subeer.” _

 

_ “Hey, babe. What’s up? You don't usually call at this time.” _

 

_ “Yeah, I know, but I want to talk to you about something serious. Is now a good time?” _

 

_ “Of course, Lance. You can talk to me anytime about anything. What do you want to talk about?” _

 

_ “I, um, I want to talk about us.” _

 

_ “A-About us?” _

 

_ “Yeah, I want to break up with you. It’s not because you are a bad guy or anything like that. Nothing like that, I just- I don't see us going anywhere, you know?” _

 

_ “What! But- I- Why? I thought that this was going really well? Why are you breaking up with me?” _

 

_ “I’m sorry, Subeer. I just- I can't do this anymore. I haven't seen you in so long. I can't keep my hopes anymore. I need to move on. I’m sorry.” _

 

_ There was the sound of shuffling and then a crash. _

 

_ “Subeer? What are you doing?” _

 

_ “I- I understand what you’re asking and why you want this. I am sorry. I know that I can't convince you to stay with me. But tell me this. If you had been able to stay on my planet, would you be breaking up with me?” _

 

_ “I don't know. I can't give you an answer.” _

 

_ There were some sniffling and more shuffling. _

 

_ “I understand. Goodbye, Lance.” _

 

_ Click _

 

_ Beep. Beep. _

 

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Lance gave the recording to Allura. He stalked out of the room as soon as it was handed over. As he left he heard the beeps signaling the start of the recording. He sighed and turned to walk towards the training room. Halfway there, he changed his mind and walked towards the nursery. He wanted to just sit and process things without anyone around.

 

Once he entered, he sat down in the corner, looking around at the bright room. In the background, he could feel Blue, but she wasn't pushing onto him. He sat there for an hour before standing. It hadn't helped him calm down. Instead, it brought forth memories of his family, causing him some anxiety, as he hadn't come out to his parents. It made him wonder if they would react the same way. He decided that he needed to leave the room in order to calm down.  He knew that Keith was worried about him, and he wanted to be wrapped in his embrace. He left the room and walked towards his room. He figured that Keith would eventually end up there.

 

As he entered the room, he was met with the sight of Keith. He was lying on Lance’s bed hugging his jacket. He looked as if he had been crying. His eyes were red and his clothes were disheveled.

 

“Keith..? What’s wrong?”   
  
Keith looked up, “I’ve just been thinking. What if this is how everyone reacts to us back on Earth? I don't think I could handle it if everyone looked down on me, us, for being who we are.”

 

Lance sighed, Keith was echoing his earlier thoughts, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too. I'm scared about how my parents will react to me being bi. I hadn't- I never came out to them.” He sat down on the bed, wiping his eyes. “But if we keep thinking about that, we will just drive ourselves crazy. Thinking about what can happen. Can we just, I don't know, cuddle?”

 

Lance looked at Keith, hopeful. Keith smiled and nodded, opening his arms.

 

“Yeah, let’s escape from this world for a little bit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell, it has been awhile. Sorry about that. I only have three weeks left in my school year, afterward, the updates will be more often. Hopefully. We may travel, who knows. But I'll try.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't going to post this, but it was taking a long time. I split this into separate, smaller chapters. So here is the first part.
> 
> The team is going to a dinner party with a new species to try to get them to join the Coalition.

“Alright, crew. We are visiting the planet, Gallenta. The alien species there are the Draziak. They are able to read body language very easily, but because we are different from them, they could get things wrong. Don't mention if they are wrong, they are very prideful and would be offended. This also means no flirting.”

 

Shiro was lecturing the team about the new species that they would be visiting. The last statement was directed towards Lance, with Shiro staring Lance down. Lance saluted Shiro.

 

“Aye, aye, captain.”

 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “The land is very rocky and there are many geysers from the unevenness in the crust, which is thin as well. So when you land try to get as close to the entrance as possible. If you can't get close, hitch a ride with someone else.

 

“We will be arriving in two hours, so everyone should take a shower and change.”

 

There was nodding from everyone before they dispersed. Pidge headed off to a separate bathroom, leaving the males to head to their shared bathroom.

 

Lance spoke up, “Hey, Shiro. Did we, by any chance, get a new suit?”

 

“Uh, I think that Hunk did, because, after the last planet, it needed replacing. But no one else did. Sorry, Lance.”

 

Lance groaned, “Maybe next time.”

 

The group laughed at his antics. 

 

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“Whatcha think, Keith? I like how this suit looks on me.”

 

“Perfect, now you don't need a new one.” He smirked as he turned and started to fix his tie.

 

“Keeeith!” Lance pouted, “I like the idea of not having to wear the same suit every time we get to be fancy.”

 

Keith snorted, “Yeah, ‘get to’, more like forced.”

 

“Shut up, I know you like it.”

 

“Yeah, because that’s me. Keith, the red paladin who enjoys dressing up.”

 

“Ok, so maybe you don't. But I do. So no more complaining, got that?”

 

“Yessir,” Keith added a small salute, grinning at Lance through the mirror. Lance rolled his eyes. 

 

“Good, now go out there. I have to finish up and it would be weird if you hung out with me. Aren’t you supposed to be mad?”

 

“Uh, maybe. I didn't want you to break up but you did. Am I still mad?”

 

“Well, either way, we don't have the connection of you helping to hide my ‘boyfriend’.” Lance said using quotation marks at the word boyfriend. “Now leave you are distracting me.”

 

Keith scoffed at that but walked out of Lance's room to the bridge. They would be taking their lions with Allura and Coran going with Shiro. The rest of the team was there and turned towards him. 

 

“He said that he’s finishing up. I tried to drag him out, but he wouldn't budge.”

 

Hunk shook his head, “Yep, that’s Lance for you.”

 

Shiro clapped his hands, “Alright, well, everyone except for Keith load up., I want you to wait for Lance.”

 

“Wait, why me?” Keith asked, cocking his head to the side.

 

Shiro raised his eyebrows and gestured around him, “Well despite what he says, I don't think that Lance would want to be around anyone but you or Coran. Coran is coming with me so it can't be him.”

 

“l guess l can stay. I’ll make sure that he finishes quickly.”

 

“Thanks, Keith. Alright, let’s go, team.”

 

Keith headed back to Lance's room and rapped on the door, “Lance? Can I come in?”

 

“Keith? Yeah come on in,” Lance was at the mirror, picking off some stray hairs. “I thought that you were going to stay out there?”

 

“Well, I was. But the rest of the team left and Shiro told me to stay here and get you out on time.”

 

Lance hummed, turning around. He put his hands on his hips and faced Keith, “How do I look?”

 

Keith smiled softly, “Perfect as always, Lance.”

 

Lance swooned, “I feel so blessed. Keith Kogane gave me, Lance McClain, a compliment.”

 

Keith laughed, “Alright, alright. Let's go. I don't want Allura to get on our case.”

 

Lance's face fell slightly, “Yeah, but one more thing.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes, “What is it-” He was cut off by Lance pressing his lips to his. “Oh.” 

 

Lance giggled at his expression, “Alright let's go now, samurai.”

  
  


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Keith landed his lion on the surface of the planet. He had a tough time finding an empty spot without geysers. He heard a beep and accepted the incoming call from Lance.

 

“ _ Uh, hey Keith? Could I land my lion on top of yours? I really can't a spot that's close enough to the entrance. _ ”

 

“You should land wherever you can and then I will pick you up and land where I am now. Does that work?”

 

“ _ Oh, yeah. That works and that’s what Shiro said to do, right? _ ”

 

“Yeah, so set down and I’ll pick you up.”

 

“ _ Got it. _ ”

 

Keith ended the call and lifted Red off the ground to follow Lance. They circled for a couple of minutes before Lance finally set down. Keith landed right next to him and walked out of Red’s mouth. He waited at the end of the snout for Lance to come out. 

 

“Man, I hate this planet. I can't even land my lion in a good spot.”

 

“Yeah, but now we have an excuse for being late, besides you taking forever.”

 

“Hey! I have to keep up my good looks! You know that.”

 

“Lance, you always look amazing. Don't worry,” Keith snuck a kiss from Lance before turning and walking into Red. As he peeked over his shoulder, he snickered at Lance dumbfounded look. “What? Did I leave you speechless?”

 

Lance shook his head, “You aren't usually this nice or soft, I guess? I like it, but it's unusual. But with our situation, it makes sense.”

 

Keith stopped and turned to him, “Nope. No dramatically somber thoughts. We are going to a party and we are going to have a good time. You can even ignore Allura because the whole planet is supposed to be here. So cheer up. At least for tonight.”

 

Lance huffed, “Fine. But I love being dramatic.”

 

“Alright, alright,” Keith shook his head affectionately, “Now let’s go so Allura doesn't get on our ass afterward.”

 

Lance followed Keith into the cockpit. It was a quiet trip, with Lance holding onto Keith’s shoulder, glancing at the landscape. When Red landed, Keith said a short goodbye and walked out with Lance.

 

“So, where do we go?” Lance asked looking around. “I don't see a building or even an entrance to go underground.”

 

At that the ground rumbled, alarming the paladins. Keith drew out his bayard, shoving Lance behind him.

 

“Stay back-”

 

He was cut off by Pidge exited from a hole that had formed.

 

“Wha-” Lance stood and gaped at her.

 

“What’s up? You guys are late, Allura’s pissed. Now come on.”

 

“Where did that hole come from?” Lance exclaimed.

 

“Long story short, they can sort of control the earth as well. Not like Hunk but more like the Balmerans. Now come on. I think that the ceremony is starting soon.”

 

Keith and Lance followed her sure steps down some stairs. At the bottom, was a Draziak. It was short and stubby, going up to their waists. They had one eye in the center of their forehead akin to that of a fly’s. It was a  cesious color with a purple tongue hanging out of its mouth.

 

“Hey, Uunn. This is Keith, the red paladin, and Lance, the blue paladin.”

 

“Hello, paladins. May I congratulate the two of you?”   
  


Lance looked at Pidge confused, but she just shrugged, “Um, of course, Uunn. Thank you for your congratulations.”

 

“My pleasure, blue paladin.”

 

“Thank you, Uunn, for letting me up. If you don't mind, we need to reconvene with our team.”

 

Uunn stepped to the side, bowing slightly. Lance grabbed Pidge’s arm and hissed in her ear, “Why did Uunn congratulate us?”

 

“I don't know, dude. But remember, Shiro told us to just agree with whatever they say.”

 

Lance frowned but stepped back, letting her go. He looked at Keith raising his eyebrow. Keith just shrugged, unaffected. Lance shook his head and decide to forget about the encounter.

 

Pidge led the pair to a room off to the side. It was the only room that was fully enclosed with a door. The rest of the area was mostly open with a couple of rooms, without doors. Inside was the rest of the team, along with a Draziak. This one was taller than the other ones that they had passed. He also a crown, signifying that he was the king. Allura was in the middle of a conversation when she saw Pidge with Keith and Lance.

 

“Ah, if I may, I would like to introduce you to the red and blue paladins, Keith and Lance.” She waved them over. “Keith, Lance, this is the king of the Draziaks, King Tanass.”

 

Keith and Lance bowed before him. Lance stood up, “It is an honor to meet you, King Tanass.”

 

“The same goes for me, King Tanass”

 

King Tanass smiled at them, “It is a pleasure to meet the two of you. And if I may, congratulations on your relationship. I didn't know that paladins could be together.” At that statement, Keith and Lance’s faces paled, while Allura and Pidge’s faces grew red. 

 

Lance coughed, “Ah, thank you, sir. The rest of the team has been very supportive of us. I am sure that I speak for Keith and me when I say that we appreciate your congratulations.”

 

King Tanass smiled at them again, “Of course. Now,” He clapped, “We must go out and dine. We have a small ballroom prepared for after our dinner.”

 

Allura composed herself, “Of course, thank you for your courtesy, King Tanass. If you don't mind, I wish to talk to Paladins Keith and Lance, to talk about their problems with their lions. Just a few questions, you understand.”

 

“Of course,” King Tanass clapped his hands, while Keith and Lance shared a scared look, “I shall leave a servant to show you the way afterward.”

 

Allura curtsied and King Tanass gestured for the other paladins and Coran to follow him. Allura whirled on Keith and Lance once the doors closed.

 

“What. Was. That?” Allura hissed through clenched teeth. Her eyes glaring daggers at the pair. Lance looked down, scuffing his shoe on the floor.

 

“Well, Allura, I think that the Draziaks think that Lance and I are dating. Simple as that. As for why I couldn't tell you.”

 

Allura turned her glare to Lance, “Lance? Would you happen to know why?” Her voice was dangerously low.

 

Lance looked up and shook his head, “No, of course not! I didn't know that this was going to happen. Honest, princess.”

 

Allura sighed, “Well I guess that you two will have to pretend. You better not cost us this alliance because the two of you can't get along.”

 

The two meekly nodded at her, “I suppose that we can't avoid it. Now, let us head to dinner. We don't want to keep the king waiting any longer then he has to.”

 

Allura stalked out the door. Keith watched her leave. Lance started walking and then turned around holding out his hand. Keith looked at it confusingly.

 

“Take my hand, Keith. We are supposed to be pretending to date.” Lance’s eyes were dancing with mirth, “Let’s take advantage of this opportunity.”

 

Keith tilted his head, “Yeah, but I think that we shouldn't kiss or anything like that. It would be weird if we went from fighting friends to kissing buddies so easily.”

 

“That’s fine. I’m just glad to be able to hold you without consequences.”

 

Keith smiled, “Alright, let’s go.” He took Lance’s hand and they walked out of the room. A servant was waiting outside the door, with Allura standing there, arms crossed. As the door opened, she turned her head. 

 

“Finally. We shouldn't keep the king any longer. Let’s go.”

 

The servant nodded and headed down the hall gesturing for them to follow. Allura followed right behind the servant, her heels clicking with every step. Lance tugged on Keith’s hand, pulling ahead, trying not to anger Allura anymore than they already had. As they entered, the king was in the middle of telling a story.

 

“And then the children started wiggling.” His laughter boomed. The paladins’ laughter was weaker as they were unsure of what he was laughing about. 

 

King Tanass turned towards the door, “Allura, come sit. You as well, paladins. Come and join the meal.”

 

Lance stepped into the room, still holding Keith's hand. When he was in, forks dropped. Pidge made a choked noise but didn't say anything. Keith ignored Shiro’s pointed looks. Lance kept his sight on the king. 

 

“In an hour, we shall clear this room and retire to the ballroom to celebrate. Red and Blue Paladins, would you be so kind as to grace our dance floor?”

 

Lance dipped his head, “Of course, although I don't know if we would grace it. Keith, here, doesn't dance very well.” He cracked a smile.

 

King Tanass laughed joyously, “We will not judge. We are just glad that you agree to this.”

 

Keith smiled, “Then I'll try my best.”

 

“That's all I ask for, Red Paladin.”

 

Allura cut in, “King Tanass, we came here for a purpose. We wanted to see if we could convince you to join the Voltron Coalition. We would offer you protection.”

 

King Tanass turned his eye towards her, “Are you saying that if we don't join, we won't have protection?”

 

Allura shook her head, “You would just be first and foremost. Other in the Coalition would help as well and offer their knowledge.”

 

“I see.” The king’s tone was flat and he turned away from the princess. “Paladins, regale me with tales of your escapades.”

 

Lance looked at him surprised, “Oh, uh, of course, Your Highness, and you must call me Lance. I forget that I am a Paladin because I am not called that. Now, shall I tell you about our latest adventure? This one time, we were ono a Galra ship, ready to take it down. Pidge, the green paladin, and Shiro, the black paladin and our leader, were with me. We were inside the ship while Keith and Hunk were outside distracting the Galra.”

 

Lance continued on with his story, adding on parts about their “awesome and totally epic” fight. Keith snorted at parts that Lance embellished. Each time Lance would lightly elbow him. At the end of the story, King Tanass clapped, saying, “That is amazing. You have incredible power. Would you mind showing me?”

 

Keith shrugged and held up his hand, fire dancing in his palm. The king leaned forward, fascinated by the images forming. It showed two people far apart but slowly grew together, finishing in each other’s arms. Lance smiled at the images, recognizing their relationship.

 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s all cool and all but watch this.” Lance lifted both of his hands and with the motion, all of the water from the glasses came to his palms. Each was distinct by being in a column. They wound together before separating and returning to the glasses. King Tanass clapped at the display.

 

He turned to Pidge, “What can you do, Green Paladin?”

 

“Oh,” Pidge looked surprised to be addressed. She fixed her glasses before answering, “I can control plants to a degree. I don't have a good grasp on it, but they can wrap around my body and give me a layer of protection. However, Hunk and I both need plants and earth already there, so it doesn't work as well in a ship. So I, unfortunately, can't give you an example.”

 

“I see, well it is interesting nonetheless. Thank you for the explanation.” Pidge nodded at him. King Tanass turned toward Hunk, “And you, Yellow Paladin?”

 

Hunk looked up from his food, “I can control the earth. I can't make intricate shapes and movements like Keith or Lance, but I can move it in directions.” Hunk faced the floor and lifted up his hands, face screwed up in concentration. Slowly, the earth followed his motions. After it reached a foot high, Hunk lowered it back down. When it was back in its original spot, Hunk dropped his hands, tired from using his quintessence. 

 

“That was very interesting, Yellow Paladin. And, Black Paladin, what do you do?”

 

“My power is control over the wind. I don't have a very good handle on it yet, so it isn't very strong. Since there isn't much wind in this area, I won't be able to show you.”

 

The king nodded thoughtfully, “Why is it that the Red and Blue Paladins are so much more advanced than you three?”

 

Allura spoke up, “Keith and Lance were the first ones to receive control over their elementals. We don't know the reason for this. They didn't know that they had control, in fact. We only found out when they were fighting against each other during training.”

 

“That's right,” Lance interrupted, “We had been fighting for apparently weeks with the fire and water around us. We didn't really have knowledge or control, they just showed up.”

 

“It must be because of your relationship.” King Tanass volunteered.

 

“Maybe,” Lance shrugged.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while. But I'm back with another chapter, part two. Almost in time for Lance's birthday. And I have a direction for the story to go, which I was struggling with before.

The king of Draziaks brought the team to a grand ballroom. It was the most decorated room, with an actual floor instead of packed dirt. The walls were covered with pictures, depicting the history of the planet, Gallenta. There was a chandelier overhead, the light from the gems glittering down onto the floor. The decorations created an atmosphere of importance. 

 

“Whoa~” Lance breathed, “This room is amazing. It's a lot different than the other rooms. Sorry, if that is insulting, but...” He trailed off.

 

King Tanass laughed, “No, no. We built this room with that in mind. Whenever we have guests from other planets, they are usually in large groups. We host them in here. If it is just an ambassador then they see how we live daily. It just makes more sense.”

 

Allura nodded, “That is a great plan.”

 

King Tanass ignored her and turned back to Lance, “If you don't mind, would you mind leading the first dance?”

 

Lance bowed, “Of course, it would be an honor.”

 

He grabbed Keith’s hand, pulling him towards the center. The room was starting to fill up with people. “It's a good thing Allura made us take dance lessons, huh?”

 

Keith nodded, “Yep, I'm very grateful. But, honestly, I don't like being here. Alone. With people staring.”

 

“Aww~ Is my Keithy stage shy?”

 

“Y-Yeah.” Keith stuttered out. “I don't like attention on me.”

 

“Well, don't worry, babe. The attention is all on me,” The music started playing and Lance guided Keith along the floor. “I think that the king really took a fancy to me. He doesn't seem to like Allura, however.”

 

Keith hummed, following Lance’s footsteps as best as he could with not looking down.

 

“Hey, don't focus too much. It’ll mess you up, just focus on me, alright? You’re doing great.”

 

Keith lowered his shoulders, “Thanks, Lance. Do you think that I can kiss you?”

 

“If I do a dip, then it’ll be expected of us. And this dance has a dip coming up in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

 

At one, Lance lowered Keith down into a dip, kissing him at the bottom gently, before rasing him back up.

 

“Amazing, see you are doing great. You haven't messed up once. And you look perfect with a blush. The Draziaks will assume that it's because I kissed you in front of so many people and the team will assume because I kissed you, period.”

 

Keith blushed more at the statement, “Shut up. You don't normally  _ kiss _ me in front of, well, anyone. This, this is a first. You are my first.”

 

Lance tilted his head and frowned, “Your first what? First boyfriend? First kiss?”

 

“Just first relationship. First crush.”

 

Lance gasped, “That means that I have everything? I had your first kiss? I’m your first boyfriend?” He voice squeaked at the end. “I. Am.  _ So _ . Lucky!” 

 

Keith hid his face in Lance’s shoulder, “Whatever, do you think that this is too close?”

 

“Yeah, a bit.” Keith leaned back, his face still red, “Don't worry the dance is almost done. When we do finish, go over to the food bar. I’m going to go to the team and take the brunt of their questions.”

 

Keith peered over his shoulder, “Are you sure? They look mad as hell, or at least Allura and Pidge do.”

 

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. I’m used to being questioned about my actions.”

 

“If you are sure.”

 

After a few more turns, the music died down. Lance and Keith stopped, stepped back and bowed, before going their separate ways. Keith decided to go to the King, after all, they were there to set up an alliance. Lance, meanwhile, went to the team, ready to face their questions.

 

“Hey guys, so do you think that the Draziaks will want to make an alliance? They seemed to really like Keith and me.”

 

Allura stared at him, “Lance. You know what we want to talk about and it isn't that. While we agreed that in order to secure the alliance, you kissed Keith. Why is that?”

 

Pidge nodded, “Yeah, you guys are constantly fighting, how are you suddenly ok with kissing each other?”

 

Lance sighed and scratched his neck, “The dance we were doing had the perfect opportunity for a couple to kiss. We decide that in order to look like we were actually dating, we needed to kiss.”

 

“Ok, well that explains the kiss, but not why they think that you two are  _ dating _ !” Pidge exclaimed. Several Draziaks looked their direction and she sheepishly waved them off.

 

“Look, guys, we can discuss this later. We are here to have King Tanass join the coalition. It would be weird for us to stay in a group.”

 

Allura sighed, pinching her nose, “Fine, we will split up, but we are  _ not _ done with this conversation. Is that understood? Unless you are dying, there is no getting out of it.”

 

Lance nodded, “Yep, I understand. Now, quick question, should I stay with Keith or go on my own.”

 

“Stay with him. Might as well keep the pretense up.”

 

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Keith headed over to the King. As he reached him, he bowed, “King Tanass.”

 

“Rise, Red Paladin, there is no need for such formalities. Now I have a question for you. Why are you hiding your relationship with the Blue Paladin?”

 

Keith’s eyes widened, “I’m sorry? I- We are not.” 

 

King Tanass shook his head, “There is no reason to hide, you forget that our species can read thoughts. I know that you are hiding it; it was obvious from your reactions when I congratulated the two of you. What I don't understand is why? You keep this guarded and while I can reach the thought, I cannot understand it.”

 

“I see. If it is alright with you, I would rather wait until Lance could join us. He would go a  little crazy if I told you without consulting him first. It is important for us to hide it. There is a justifiable reason.”

 

“Of course, my apologies. I did not mean to put you on the spot.”

 

Keith smiled and bowed again, “There is no need to apologize. Now I must give my thanks to you for setting up this party in our honor.”

 

The two kept talking about much more trivial things until Lance joined them.

 

“King Tanass, thank you for setting up such a wonderful party for us. This music is amazing and the people have been so friendly.”

 

“It was no problem, Blue Paladin. Now, Keith, if you may?”

 

“Right, thank you. We will be right back.”

 

Lance gaped at Keith as he was pulled to a corner, “Uh, what is going on?”

 

“Ok, so the king knows that we are hiding our relationship, our true relationship, from the rest of the team. He wants to know why and see if he can help, I think. I didn't tell him why because I wanted to wait to talk to you first. So, should we?”

 

Lance shook his head, “Wait a minute, how does he know?”

 

“The Draziaks can read thoughts, remember?”

 

“Right, ok. Then why doesn't he know why?”

 

“He didn't explain it very well, but basically he can read the thought but not understand it.”

 

Lance peered over Keith’s shoulder at the king, “What the hell does that mean?”

 

Keith shrugged, “Beats me. I assume that because we can't read minds we can't understand. But who knows?”

 

Lance inhaled, “Ok, so should we tell him?”

 

“I made up my mind, but I want to hear your thoughts first.”

 

“Right, right. I'm just a little scared. We have never told anyone about this,” Lance gestured between them, “And what if he reacts like the team after hearing our reason?”

 

Keith put his hand on Lance’s shoulder, “Before you start to spiral, let me tell you why I think we should tell the king. First,” He said ticking off his fingers, “He is a ruler of a powerful planet, which Allura wants to join the coalition. Second, he knew that we are both males and was fine with us dating. Third, King Tanass seems like a genuine person. I can't think of any possible benefit for him, besides our trust. Even with our trust, he won't have much sway, Allura kind of ignores us now because, well you know why.”

 

Lance nodded, “Alright, let’s tell him. I don't like it, but you bring up good points.”

 

Keith shook his head, “If you don't want to do this, then we can march up to the king and say that we won't tell him. I won't push you towards anything. I am fine with anything, I was just telling you reasons for telling King Tanass.”

 

Lance exhaled, “Thank you, Keith. I- I don't want to tell him. I just don't trust that much. Because you are right, he has no benefit in this. I find it weird that he would get involved if he gets nothing out of it.”

 

“Alright, we will go with your judgment.”

 

Lance smiled at Keith, “Thanks, babe. Now shall we go?” He asked holding up his arm.

 

“We shall,” Keith answered, taking Lance’s arm.

 

Together, arm in arm, they walked over to the king. Lance spoke to him, “You probably already know our answer, but just in case you don't I will tell you anyway. We don't want to tell you our reason for hiding our relationship. I apologize if this hurts your trust in us, but I, no, we believe this is the right choice.”

 

“I understand fully, Paladins. There is no harm done. I didn't want to force you to tell me. It was a free choice. If you wish, you may go and enjoy the festivities.”

 

Lance visibly relaxed, “Thank you, King Tanass. And please, don't judge our teammates too harshly, they are doing what they believe is correct, no matter how twisted their view is.”

 

They bowed and walked off.

 

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Lance pulled Keith into another dance, with a “Don't worry, babe. Only I am watching and laughing at you.”

 

“Oh, hardy har har. I feel much more confident now that I know that Lance McClain is laughing at my dancing.”

 

“We are in a crowd this time. It doesn't matter.”

 

They whirled around the dance floor, shoes clicking against the hard floor. Lance kept up an endless stream of chatter to make sure Keith didn't get too nervous and overwhelmed. However as the song ended, Hunk approached them. 

 

“Sorry, Keith, I need to borrow your  _ boyfriend _ .” He said through gritted teeth before grabbing Lanc by the arm and leading him elsewhere. Keith was left on the dance floor, looking confused by the suddenness and rudeness of Hunk.

 

Lance yelped at the roughness of Hunk, “Hey, buddy, can we slow down? I kinda feel bad for leaving Keith in the middle of the dance floor. We all know that Keith can't do any social interactions.” He snickered, thinking of their first kiss. “What are you doing, anyway?”

 

Hunk looked back on him, “Pidge and I have questions. Even if Allura will let you go, we want answers now.”

 

Lance rolled his eyes, “I figured you would. But you don't have to be so rude about it. You could have just asked. As long as I wasn't talking to the king or an important ambassador, I would have said yes.”

 

“Whatever, this is all Pidge’s idea.”

 

Lance hummed, “Great, now let me go. I can walk by myself.” He said, jerking his arm away from Hunk. Hunk dubiously dropped his arm, when Lance didn't try to run, Hunk walked ahead.

 

Lance looked back but couldn't see Keith. He frowned but decide to go against his better judgment and trust that Keith would be able to navigate away from the dance floor. He turned around and followed Hunk through a door. Hunk led him to the dining room from earlier. Pidge was already there sitting down.

 

“Hey, Pidgey. What’s up?”

 

Pidge looked up and him from her tablet, “Good, you are finally here. Now sit. I have some questions for you, as does Hunk.”

 

“Yep, I heard. Does this have to with Keith, perchance?”

 

Pidge raised an eyebrow, “If you expected something different, I don't know what to tell you.”

 

Lance nodded, “Ok, great. But we really must make this quick. I don't want Allura to be mad at me.”

 

“Alright, now, why did you kiss Keith?”

 

“I thought I said this earlier. The dance that we were doing had a dip. Normally, most couples kiss at that point. It would seem weird if Keith and I didn't when we are supposed to be dating. We discussed this beforehand and we were both on board.”

 

Pidge narrowed her eyes, wrote something down on her tablet, then nodded. “Alright, why do you think that King Tanass thought that you were dating in the first place?”   
  


“My best guess is that because we have such strong feelings about each other, stemming, at least for me, from a long time ago, he misunderstood it. He thought we were dating instead.”

 

Pidge made a small noise in the back of her throat before nodding, “Back to the dance, why did Keith hide his face in your shoulder after the kiss?”

 

“He was embarrassed and already put on the spot by us dancing in the middle of the room with no one else to take away the attention. That's the best that I can tell.”

 

Hunk shook his head, “This whole thing is messed up. You have to pretend to be in love with  _ Keith _ !”

 

Lance’s mouth tightened, “You know where I stand on that, besides Keith isn't a bad person.”

 

“No, no, no,” Hunk exclaimed, backpedaling, “He isn't a bad person, it's just the situation.”

 

“Ok, well, thanks for this but, I'm leaving and going back to the party. I was going to have a good time and I am still going to do that.” Lance’s eyes flashed before he turned away from Hunk’s curious gaze.

 

“What’s wrong, Lance?”

 

Lance laughed, “Ok, we’ll do this. But right now, I am going to try to secure that alliance. Hopefully, I will put Allura in a good mood.”

 

He walked out of the room, not looking back. If he had, he would have seen Pidge looking after him before scribbling in her tablet again. Hunk stared after him, mouth gaping.

 

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It turns out Keith couldn't be left alone on the dance floor. As soon as Lance was out of eyesight, a Draziak swooped up Keith in their arms and started to lead him around.

 

“Red Paladin, thank you for your continuous bravery. It is surely commendable of you.”

 

Keith smiled tightly, not wanting to offend the creature, “You are welcome...”

 

“Oh, of course. My name is Narriseer IX. It is passed down from generation to generation within my family.”

 

“I see. Well, you are welcome, Narriseer. Now if you don't mind me asking, why are we dancing? Together, I mean,” Keith panicked when he saw Narriseer’s expression, “Not that I don't enjoy it, it was just so sudden.”

 

“Ah, my apologies. I decide to help you since you seemed lost out there. How did you end up there alone?”

 

Keith smiled, “I was dancing with the blue paladin when the green and yellow paladins came because they needed to talk to him. I was left in the middle of the dance floor, and I was sorta stuck. ”

 

“It is terrible that they would leave you alone like that.”

 

“Yes, well I should be able to navigate through crowds by now. But it isn't important,” Keith looked around, scanning the room for Lance before turning back to Narriseer, “Tell me about yourself.”

 

“I am King Tanass’s advisor, his one and only, might I add.”

 

“Indeed?” Keith raised an eyebrow, “How come we haven't seen you before?”

 

Narriseer deflated slightly, before puffing back up, “The Royal Highness gave the wonderful job of overseeing the setup of this room. I take great pride in my work.”

 

“It is amazing. The colors go together wonderfully.”

 

Narriseer smiled brightly, “Thank you, Red Paladin. Now we are on the edge of the dance floor if you wish to leave.”

 

Keith sighed, “I wish I didn't have to, but I believe that my leaders want to talk to me.”

 

“Of course, I understand. Goodbye, Red Paladin.” Narriseer bowed, his tongue waving.

 

Keith turned around. Even though he didn't have to, he should have met with Shiro and Allura before. He hoped that they wouldn't be mad at him. He walked over quickly, ready to escape the crowded dance floor. 

 

“Allura, Shiro. How are you two doing?”

 

Allura spun around and grabbed Keith by the arm, “I would like to introduce you to Colonel Amortan and Major Horger. They have been telling us about the many courageous battles they have fought.” Allura looked tired but was still putting forth a smile.

 

Keith smiled politely at the two. Not like he hasn't been fighting an intergalactic war or anything. Allura tightened her grip and shot him a look, “Was there a reason you came for us?”

 

“No, no. Lance was taken by Pidge and Hunk. I don't know where so I’ve just been walking around and saying hello to people. In fact, I met King Tanass’ advisor, Narriseer.”

 

Allura quirked an eyebrow, “I didn't know that the king had an advisor. Why wasn't he at the dinner with us?”

 

“I was told that he was overseeing the setup of this room.” Keith shrugged, “If you will excuse me, I think that I am going to keep making rounds. Maybe I’ll see Lance.”

 

Shiro waved him off, “We need to talk later, Keith. Don't forget.” Keith gave him two thumbs-up before walking off. He could see Lance in the distance.

 

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Lance quickly walked out of the room, wanting to desperately put some distance between himself and Pidge and Hunk. As he entered the room, he stood there, wondering where Keith would be. He felt an arm slip around his waist and he jerked around. He grasped the arm and twisted it behind the person.

 

“Lance! It's just me!” 

 

Lance gasped and let go of the arm. “I'm so sorry, Keith.”

 

Keith smiled, but his eyebrows were furrowed, “That's ok. It's to be expected, I shouldn't have snuck up on you. Why are you so on edge?”

 

Lance shook his head, “I'm just jumpy in general, you know that.” He booped Keith’s nose.

 

Keith hummed, “Well, do you want to dance or walk around and talk to people?”

 

“Let’s walk around.”

 

Keith took Lance’s hand, “Why don't I introduce you to Narriseer?”

 

“Who?”

 

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Allura paced around in the bridge. She felt hands being placed on her shoulders. She looked up to see Shiro’s smile.

 

“Calm down. That was a good day. We got the alliance secured.”

 

‘Yeah but,” She pursed her lips, unsure what was wrong, “I don't know. It just feels weird. I didn't do anything to secure it. It was all Keith and Lance.”

 

“That is true but it is also a good thing. It means that they are becoming better in diplomacy. Now we need to talk to them. I'll call them in.”

 

She sighed, but waved her hand, “Go ahead, I'll be waiting here.”   
  


Shiro left the room, leaving Allura to stare out of the window. She felt so stupid, she knew that she should have gotten into the advisor’s good graces. Hell, she hadn't even known that there was an advisor, much less his name. She mentally berated herself for not asking and for not finding him after Keith had dropped the tidbit of information.

 

She didn't hear the door slide open, stuck in her thoughts. She yelped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

 

“Oh, it's just you three. I'm sorry, I was swept up in my thoughts,” She felt Shiro’s gaze on her, “Now, good job on securing the alliance, but you know that we have questions.”

 

Lance sighed, “Yes, Princess. Pidge and Hunk even pulled aside to question.”

 

Allura frowned, “Well, I'll have to talk to them later. But right now you have to answer our questions. First, why did King Tanass think that you two were dating?”

 

“Um, I wouldn't know. The best I can say is that Keith and I have become friendlier towards each other..?” Lance shrugged, “I don't know.”

 

Keith nodded, “Yeah, that's probably what made them think that. I don't know why else.”

 

“Hmm, ok then, now Lance, why did you kiss Keith?”

 

Keith blushed and Lance answered straight-faced, “The dance had a dip, which is a perfect point for a couple to kiss. It would seem weird to the Draziaks if we didn't, so I asked Keith and since he allowed it so…” Lance trailed off.

 

“I see. Now, Keith, why were you so embarrassed if you allowed it?”

 

Keith adverted his eyes, “It was my, um, first kiss and even though I allowed it, it was still embarrassing. I don't know.” He blushed, still looking at the ground.

 

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows, “Oh, yeah, that's right. Why did you allow him to kiss you then? Why did you allow Lance to kiss you then? It would have been fine if you didn't. I'm sure that you could have said something about human culture.”

 

Keith looked up briefly and then looked back down, “Well, the Draziaks could still read minds, so I didn't want to get into trouble by lying to them. And I guess that I wasn't thinking and just went along with it.”

 

Shiro nodded, “Alright, well, I guess that's all we have, right, Allura?”

 

Allura sighed, “Yes, it is quite late and we have a mission later tomorrow. Go and get your rest.” She waved them off, turning around.

 

Keith and Lance quickly turned around and walked out.

 

“Well,” Lance started, “That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I mean they asked more than Pidge and Hunk, I think.”

 

“You think?” Keith teased, “You can't remember what they asked you?”

 

“Oh, come on. I'm leaving.”

 

Keith laughed, “Damn, well I guess I'll never have another ‘friend’” He joked, making quotation marks at the word ‘friend’.

 

“Oh, shut up,” Lance elbowed Keith in the arm. “I'll see you in the morning, alright? Make sure that you actually sleep. And don't stop me from training with you.”

 

“Fine, but if you are tired, go back to sleep. I don't want to make you tired before the mission. I can't carry you all the time.”

 

“Oh, shove off. I can carry myself just fine.”

 

“Ok, sure.” They stopped in front of Lance’s door, “I'll see you tomorrow.” Keith drew Lance in a hug, whispering in his ear, “I'll see you in the morning, I want to just cuddle.”

 

Lance whispered back, “Why don't you come in later tonight?”

 

Keith drew back, “Alright, goodnight. See you tomorrow.”

 

Lance smiled, “Goodnight, Keith.” He waved and turned into his bedroom. Still smiling at the thought of Keith coming later.


End file.
